King Wart's Geek Week
by kevin.huynh.31542
Summary: In this story, Wart and his friends join a fan convention, but the frog starts off peeved with fan base and merchandise. However, that becomes changed when a teenage girl named Lily became his new friend, who helped him find out what's it really like to be a good fan.
1. Chapter 1 - The Dissatisfaction Figure

This is me, the great and grouchy King Wart, who was having a pretty rough life since my banishment from the dream world Subcon, which happened years ago. I once tried to get my revenge on Mario by kidnapping all of the Toads, but after our recent defeat, we quit our role as villains because it wasn't worth it to do anything bad. As of now, I live in rotting hut in a swamp along with my minion-turned friends Mouser, Clawgrip the monster crab, Fryguy the fireball, and Tryclyde the three-headed snake; Birdo left us to join the green dinosaur Yoshi. As usual, I was getting up from my rock-solid lily pad bed groggily, mainly because I had to stay up late for keep guard of our stinky home.

"Good morning, your majesty," hissed Tryclyde. "How was-s-s-s your s-s-s-sleep?"

"How can it be a good morning when you always wake up groggily after a nightmare?" I croaked.

"You got that right," added Mouser.

We had a lousy morning routine of taking a slimy bath in the swamp and eating some dying algae for breakfast, when I should've been bathing in a Jacuzzi and gobbling up chocolate-hazelnut and banana crepe. After that, I decided to go to a flea market at Toad Town, in hopes of a more pleasing day. Unfortunately, all of the tents, trucks, goods and flowers were all gone, leaving only the parking lot. This was when I realized that the flea market was closed due to some week-long geek fest.

"Why is everyone gone?" I asked.

King K. Rool then came along, dressed up as Lord Fredrik the Snowmad King from _Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze_; like the tubby walrus, the gator wore a helmet with two spikes on each side. He also wore a fake mustache and two plastic tusks. Furthermore, he had a white fur cape and a belt with a snowflake-shaped jewel.

"Didn't you hear the news, old frog?" replied the ecstatic reptile. "The day after tomorrow is the first day of _Contendo Week_! Get it? If you fuse 'con' and 'Nintendo', originally the name of a card company, you get 'Contendo'! Are you excited about it or what?"

"Don't remind me, please," I ribbited.

He then enthusiastically showed me a brochure focused on the fan convention. "Read here, where you find out that there'll be lots of toys, comics, costumes, and attractions, like scavenger hunts and dance competition to win exclusive action figures and cards! Mario, who'll be dressed as various characters like Red the Pokémon Trainer, will be hosting the event that will be recorded LIVE on television as well as other guests such as Pauline, as Captain Syrup, and Donkey Kong, *whispers* who is my enemy. Special visitors like Sonic and Mega Man will also appear to give us autographs! And best of all, it's FAMILY-ORIENTED (mostly), meaning that I can bring my kids to the con!"

"I'm fine with the 'Nintendo', but it's the 'con' that worries me, considering the fragile toys and how loud the event would be. _And those geeks…"_

I always hated merchandise because of their association with the greed of various companies that try to raise the popularity of franchise. Nonetheless, the gang and I have planned to go there to spread our pity over those nerds obsessed with action figures, comic books, and all of the junk they waste their money for. Much to my dismay, Tryclyde repainted himself as Serviper the Fang Snake Pokemon and wore red fangs; Mouser disguised himself as a green-haired caveman, named Joe, with Fryguy as his torch, and Clawgrip dressed himself as Wonder Red from _The Wonderful 101. _

"Don't tell me that you're dressing up as your favorite characters," I groaned.

"Oh, come on, big green dude," replied Mouser. "Can't we just have a little bit of fun once in a while? It's not like we're deceiving you or anything."

"Argh, let some friends take t' ship and travel to a new island to seek new adventure, captain, for they shall learn something new and not be trapped in a bubble for all eternity," added Clawgrip.

"Huh? Speak plain English, you crusty crustacean, or walk the plank!" Fryguy scolded the crab. "Sheesh…"

"Shut it, ye big ball o' flames! I get t' speak me language as ye get t' speak yours!"

"Seriously, no one could understand your tall tales!"

"Then I'll splash ye with water and put your heart in Davy Jones's locker!"

"S-s-s-simmer down, you two!" hissed Tryclyde. "Or you will both walk the plank!" He then turned to me. "Now, Wart, wouldn't it be nic-c-c-e if we had a little bit of fun onc-c-c-e in a while? No one loves-s-s a party pooper who jus-st holds us-s-s back."

I let this situation go, but I kept my oath not to wear any ridiculous costume ever. Gawsh, it seems like if my friends ARE betraying me… And by the way, Clawgrip was every so often criticized for his bothersome pirate talk and for telling tall tales that were claimed to be true, like how he "defeated a giant octopus", but never proven.


	2. Chapter 2 – Off to Babysit (Subplot)

Now, I'm sure that you've heard of Little Mac, a popular 17-year old boxer who wears a black tank top, green shorts, and green boxing gloves. He was once Doc Louis's shortest and youngest student, but he was also the most formidable, in terms of his quick and powerful punching abilities. Eventually, after extreme training, he entered the World Video Boxing Association to fight against tons of opponents with Doc's supervision and defeated Mr. Dream to become titleholder.

For several days before Contendo Week, he was bringing home his friends Kenny Rool, King K. Rool's eccentric son who happens to be 'good-hearted' (which displeases the Kremling family), and Tigerlily, an "adorable" human girl who is Mario's trusted personal caretaker and the most "epic" babysitter in the neighborhood. Now let me tell you a little bit more about Little Mac's friends:

Kenny Rool, the oldest of K. Rool's three children, used to help his father steal the Kongs' Banana Hoard many times, but eventually, he gave up on his assistance due to the countless failures but mainly how he disliked bananas. From that day on, he turned good and chose to make friends with individuals at the Mushroom Kingdom and even the apes (secretly), who realized that he officially turned over a new leaf.

As for Tigerlily, during her childhood, she was long separated from her parents during the destruction of a passenger ship that was supposed to head to Mushroom City. When the bluish-black-haired girl took a ride on a lifeboat, she ended up on a distant forest where she lived alone as an orphan who took care of young animals (foreshadowing her talent of babysitting), despite her depression over the loss of her parents. A few days later, Mario and Luigi coincidently found her squatting and shedding tears near a tree and generously took her to their house where they nurtured her until they found her a new family. Ultimately, due to her immense love of children, Tigerlily grew up as a widely-known phenomenal babysitter; she even occasionally visited the red-capped plumber to be his housekeeper and caregiver as gratitude for founding her as a child.

Anyway, at the boxer's home…

"As always, I love this house this yours, Little Mac; just look at those trophies and metals you won!" said Kenny.

"It took me a lot of hard work and some of Doc Louis's advice, man," replied Little Mac. "Now why don't head to the family room, while I'll get you two some ice-cold sodas?"

Kenny and Tigerlily went to the family room as the boxer brought them the drinks.

"So how was the World Video Boxing Association?" asked the bluish-black haired girl.

"Dude, now that I'm done, I'm currently NUMBER ONE!" cheered Mac, showing off his latest trophy. His friends gave a round of applause.

"Nobody shall underestimate you just because you're 'little'!" hurrahed Kenny. "You know, I just can't believe that you finally returned from the WVBA so that we'll be spending time doing fun stuff like rolling downhill in a giant bubble, road skating, Goomba-stomping contests, and of course, like what we practiced, (together with Little Mac) the EPIC SPLIT! (Splitting between two vehicles as demonstrated by Jean-Claude Van Damme) But that's not all! There will also be Contendo Week, in which there's going to be action figures, comic books, and *winks* girls in cute costumes, so be with your best appeal!"

"Man, I can hardly wait for the fan fest! Kenny, remember how we discussed about me dressing up as Knuckles the Echidna and you as the Shake King from the _Shake Dimension_?"

"Not to mention me portraying myself as Sonic the Hedgehog…with a spin," informed T.L. making a peace sign followed by a wink.

"Ohh…" replied Mac and Kenny, feeling curious.

"Oh, wait, I almost forgot! I have an appointment from Princess Peach starting tomorrow, where I have to look after her kids for a week or more, so I'm afraid that I won't be spending much time with you for a while. Sorry about that."

"It's alright, Tigerlily. We understand how busy you are as a babysitter," responded the boxer. "On the bright side, we still got some time to hang out with each other today, so it's all good."

On the next day, at Princess Peach's Castle, the babysitter came to visit Ginny (the one with blond hair) and Suzibeth (the one with brown hair), the daughters of Mario and Peach.

"Good morning, your highness," she greeted the princess.

"Glad you're here!" replied Peach with a smile. "I'm sure you know why I called you here. Ginny and Suzibeth were looking forward to enjoy the summer with you while I'll be off to community service. Remember that I will have to come home late on a daily basis."

Then, the kids ran towards the entrance and began to give Tigerlily a hug and giggled. "It's you, Miss Tigerlily!"

"It's so nice to meet you two," the teenage girl laughed back. "So how was school before it was over? Were you getting good scores? Have you been behaving in class?"

"Nothing but A's and B's…" replied Suzibeth.

"…followed by an award for best manners in the class," added Ginny with pride.

"Impressive! Now that we're all here together, what would you like to do first?"

"First, we'll call Cousin Louie to join us," suggested Ginny. "And then, we'll play hopscotch, one of our most favorite activities at recess."

"Same here when I was a little girl (before my separation from my biological parents). Now let's go get Louie."

Meanwhile, at home, Little Mac and Kenny were busy energetically playing video games on the Wii U, such as _Nintendo Land _and _Super Smash Bros.,_ until suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door. Little Mac opened the door and saw Bowser, the big burly brute who was one of my true friends a while ago, along with one of his bratty children Roy Koopa.

The boxer gulped, "Umm, h-h-hello, your majesty."

The Koopa King, angrier than fire, snarled, "I am very disappointed in you two for what happened last week. After the day you and that giddy gator threw toilet paper at our castle as a rotten prank, I will put you to a special assignment to make it up to us!"

"What assignment?"

"Your task is to look after my son Roy Koopa for whom you are going to have to take care of and obey. Remember, you must treat him nicely or he will begin to freak out, resulting in unthinkable consequences. So you better not mess this up or else."

So Mac nervously brought Roy inside whereas Bowser forcefully closed the door, shattering the window on it and creating cracks on the wall. "Yo, Kenny, you happen to have an experience with babysitting, do you?"

"I have, maybe. Wait, is that Roy Koopa? (gulps) Because you see, _Macintosh_, I'm not used to looking after Kooportentum Reges."

"Hey dorks, I want you two to give me a nice massage, and you better put some weight to it, or I'll put weight on both of you!" roared the bossy Roy. "And after that, I got a list of things for you pinheads to do, where you'll be serving me."

_"__Better do as he says, otherwise, we're toast!"_ whispered Mac in fear. And so Mac and Ken carefully massaged Roy lying on the table at the dining room; the Koopaling laughed in response.


	3. Ch 3 – The First Day of Contendo Week

Time had come. My friends were already in their costumes, so we instantly headed to the first location of the fan convention via Warp Pipe, which was Lumiose City at the Kalos Region of the Pokémon World. Keep in mind that I was more than prepared to encounter the people wearing costumes, like it is Halloween, and playing with toys like babies.

Next, I began to see Little Mac, wearing a costume based on Knuckles the Echidna, hence the red dreadlocks and white gloves with pointed knuckles, Kenny Rool, who was supposed to be dressed up as the Shake King until the costume broke, for which he changed his plans and depicted himself as Calem the Pokemon Trainer, wearing a dark red hat with sunglasses, a blue track jacket with white stripes, navy blue pants, and black combat boots with blue laces, and Roy Koopa, who didn't wear a costume much to my pleasure. Before this day, the reptile and boxer had to babysit the Koopaling who put them in pressure by constantly giving the two orders like serving strawberry and orange smoothies, manicures, buying him tons of desserts like macrons, and giving a special bath; they also had to undergo Roy's nasty insults (Ex: "You walk like a stuffed duck", "Easy on the ice, you diaper-heads", "Nice tank top, Mac. I hope they come in men's sizes"), whether they did their job well or not.

Then, we met Tigerlily, wearing gloves and a blue, blanket-soft hoodie with Sonic's spikes and ears on her hood, pockets, strings with rings, and the lack of sleeves…and that it bared a little bit of her midriff… Anyway, those kids following her were Ginny, as Samus from Metroid, Suzibeth, as Pit from Kid Icarus, and Louie (Luigi and Daisy's son), dressed up as Captain Olimar from Pikmin.

By the time Contendo Week began, there came a musical-theatre-themed song based on the Waltz of the Forest from _Super Mario RPG_ and started with a chorus:

[Trumpets are played by several Chesnaughts.]

Chorus:_ Welcome to Contendo! _

(Music resumes while a Toad disguised as Pikachu skips.)

[The real Calem dressed as Geno:]

_Welcome to Contendo, the place for fans!_

_Now that you're here, it is time to plan,_

_You can start by dueling with figurines and cards,_

_The choices are endless with lots of regard. _

[Serena (from Pokemon X and Y) portrayed as Fennekin:]

_Coming up, is Sonic dressed as Link, _(Sonic shows up)

_Running turbo fast and makes a wink, _

_All the gamers love him, bit by bit,_

_They know that speed's his favorite game, lickety-split._

[Various Fans:]

_Costumes!_

_Action figures!_

_Comic books!_

_Cards!_

_Underpants! _

_T-shirts!_

_Overpants!_

_Overpants?_

_But that's not all; there'll be more special guests!_

_I just can't wait, 'cause this fest will be the best!_

[Mario (Dressed up as Red), Luigi (As Blue), Calem, and Serena:]

_Glad that you could made it; it will be fun,_

_The con lasts for seven days before it's done,_

_If you join the games, then you'll be so surprised,_

_An exclusive figure may be the Nobel Prize._

[Kenny:]

_There's so much to do, but how can I start?_

[Little Mac]

_I'd ask the fans who dedicate through their heart._

[Everyone except me:]

_Contendo's the Golden Age of Fans._

[Me:]

_Look at those costumes, figures, and trash!_

_No wonder why the fan fest is such a big bash!_

_I wish that it would last for less than a week._

(I grabbed Nabbit, from NSMBU, shoplifting some figures.)_ Hey! Stupid Nabbit, toys are for geeks!_

[Tigerlily's Verse:]

_(Smiles) Can't you show some spirit, just for once?_

_I feel like you were fumbling for several months._

[Ginny:]

_Feeling like a clown, you've been bringing us a frown,_

[Louie:]

_But the games can help you turn it upside-down._

[Me:]

_What kind of games? How do they work?_

_What do I get? Why should I care?_

_This is ridiculous; you can't tell me what do._

_If nothing good happens, then I will SUE!_

[Mario:]

_Good thing that you're here; it should be fun,_

_We're here for only seven days before it's done,_

_Please join the games, you'll be glad and surprised,_

_A TOY FROG could be a special Nobel Prize._

[Me:]

_There's too much to do, but how will I start?_

_I'd ask the fans who care, but I rather shoot some darts…_

_…__at the one who's responsible for this fest._

[Instrumental verse played by the Spindas, Flaffies, Raichus, Gallades, etc.]

[Everyone but me:]

_Glad that we could made it; it will be fun,_

_The con lasts for seven days before it's done,_

_If we join the games, then we'll be so surprised,_

_An exclusive figure may be the Nobel Prize._

[Trevor (from Pokemon) as Yoshi:]

_There's so much to do, but how can we start?_

[Shauna (from Pokemon as well) as Birdo:]

_We'd ask the other fans who dedicate through their heart._

[Everyone:]

_Contendo is the Golden Age of Fans._

Finally, the Broadway song ended. As we explored the convention, my friends started to read some of the comic books and grabbed few of the action figures to play with; Mouser was reading _Star Fox Legacy # 12: Wolf's Return_, Clawgrip, a.k.a. _Wonder Crab,_ grabbed the Mega Mewtwo X and Mega Lucario figures and imitated a battle between the two, and Fryguy and Tryclyde were wearing drinking helmets each with a picture of Eggman, Sonic's enemy.

"Hey! Put back the plastic and comics where you found them!" I ordered the gang. "We're here to ridicule the geeks, not join them!"

"Aww, man!" whined Mouser. "I was getting to the part where Krystal gets kidnapped by Wolf O'Donnell!"

"That's an order, you rowdy rodent! Now get teasing!"

"Fine." He then put the comic back where it belonged. After that, he agreed to tease the fans, including one depicted as Link. "*He blows a raspberry.* Hey,_ Link_! You really think you're worthy to wield the Triforce when you can't even hold your sword the right way?"

Tryclyde also joined in. "Is-s-s your name _Gannondorf_? Because of those scrawny muscles, you should've been called _Gannondork_! HA HA HA HA HA!"

While the group resumed attempting to tease the nerds, I was suddenly recorded by a reporter who was responsible for putting the event live on TV.

"Good morning, viewers! Stanley's the name, and today is the first day of Contendo Week! Later, you'll be seeing the first attraction, which is the trivia contest, but right now, we have someone who doesn't seem to have quite enthusiastic about the experience." Stanley then asked me, "So how come you don't enjoy being here?"

"Because I'm surrounded by a bunch of geeks draining their money for those plastic junk and such," I muttered.

"Oh, come on! You're taking this a bit too seriously. It's good to have a little fun once in a while. Now why don't we go visit Sonic the Hedgehog where he's going to tell the kids some of the best Zelda stories in the Hyrule history?"

I responded by burping out bubbles.

Meanwhile, Little Mac and Kenny were to spend the day buying Roy a truckload of action figures and comic books, avoiding the risk of a paroxysm, but costing them half of their fortune; and to make matters worse, the Koopaling picked on several children by shoving them, taking their figurines, or insulting them, simply for the fun of things.

"Hey, give that back, you big bully!" cried a boy whose Fox McCloud collectable was taken by the Koopaling.

"I'll give it back to you when you'll stop being such a dork," Roy replied, holding the toy up high.

"Excuse me, does it belong to you? Give back the figure to Charlie, right now!" the boy's mother ordered Roy.

_"__Dude, not only that Roy keeps on asking for stuff, he's also messing with the kids who did nothing to him!"_ Mac whispered to Kenny. _"What are going to do?_

_"__We got this, Mac 'n' Cheese," _The reptile whispered back. _"Maybe we'll try to persuade him to be nice to everyone if we think of something."_

While Roy was busy harassing the kids, Mac and Kenny once again met Tigerlily who brought along Ginny, Suzibeth, and Louie.

"…Whoa, you're adorable, girl," complemented Mac, gazing at the babysitter's Sonic costume. "You meant it when you said 'with a spin'."

"Told you so," she replied, winking. "By the way, your Knuckles costume really suits you. You've got the strength, I've got the speed."

"So, would you like to stay with us for a little bit?" asked Kenny, pointing aside with two index fingers with his eyes narrowed.

"I suppose that we have some time before the first attraction begins," replied Tigerlily. "Anyway, is that Koopa giving someone, portrayed as Ash, a wedgie?"

The second boy screamed as Roy was pulling his underwear.

"Oh, shoot, we gotta get Roy under control!" yelled Mac, feeling traumatized.

In the meantime, Stanley and I met that speedy Sonic signing autographs for under a nanosecond and giving out sugary candy to those puny kids.

"Wart, it's you!" greeted Sonic. "Long time no see. How have you been?"

"It wasn't easy being green," I grumbled quietly. "Anyhow, I'm not here to join the noisy fanboys and fangirls and hear your fables. I'm here to know what's it like to be here!"

"Well, glad you asked! You see, in fan conventions, performers like us often give out autographs to the fans, occasionally in exchange for a regular appearance fee, and from time to time may tell tales or perform songs unrelated to the shows or otherwise entertain the devotees. Keep in mind that there is often tight security for us celebrities to be protected against potentially obsessive fans. Such features may not be mutual at traditional science-fiction conventions, which are more oriented toward science fiction as a mode of literature, rather than toward visual media…"

I began to yawn, exhaling some bubbles from my mouth. "Is this the end of it, you blabbering blue blur?"

"Not quite yet, _Kermit_."

"The name's Wart."

"Sorry. Anyway, anime conventions, gaming conventions, filk-music conventions and furry conventions may all be considered spin-offs of science-fiction conventions, which began in the late '30s…"

"Oh, ribbit. This will take a while," I croaked in frustration.


	4. Chapter 4 – The Quiz Whiz

"The attraction is about to begin in five minutes," said Tigerlily, looking at her Sonic-themed watch (Of course it was Sonic-themed). "Then again, I still have the trio to look after."

"Then how about let us to look after the kids, so you can go ahead and join the quiz show?" suggested Kenny. "Don't sweat it; we'll make sure to take good care of your kids."

She then told Ginny, Suzibeth, and Louie, "I'll be off to participate while Kenny and Mac will keep an eye on you. While I'm gone, promise me that you will all behave as always."

"As an oath…" declared Ginny.

"…we will be on our best behavior…" added Suzibeth.

"…whenever we can," adjoined Louie.

"Give me a high five, the three of you!" Each of the kids gave their babysitter's hand a slap.

So T.L. left Mario's two daughters and Luigi's son with Little Mac and Kenny Rool so she could go watch that trivia show focused on how much we know about the Nintendo franchises.

Meanwhile, after Sonic has finished telling me how fan conventions work, Calem and Serena showed up, along with their Pokemon, to get into my nerves.

"Hiya, Wart!" greeted the boy. "I hope you're not bothered about this, but we would like you to sign your name here, as a participant for the quiz show."

"Beat it, twerp! Say, isn't it time to feed your Chespin or something?"

"Chespin (I'm not hungry.)," said the Spiny Nut Pokémon.

"Oh, come on, you grumpy pants!" begged Serena. "You are going to love the quiz because this is how you'll understand the importance of Contendo Week. We've heard that as a child, you've owned and read a library of books focused on the histories of Mario, Samus Aran, the Smash Games, and so on."

Then, Professor Sycamore (from PKMN X and Y, hence the location), dressed up as Wolf O'Donnell, arrived as well. "Serena's got a point. Answering questions on the show will be a great experience to recapture how you see all of the famous heroes and their cultures when you were young."

This was when it hit me: Back in Subcon, as a tadpole, I used to buy a whole bunch of hero-focused guides and documentaries at the bookstore as a child. I wanted to learn a lot about Mario, Link, Samus, Captain Falcon, etc. because I had dreams of being special like them. However, while I have remembered how the heroes overcome their foes, I stopped reading the books when the other frogs repeatedly called me a geek. I was ashamed for being different from my own kind, but I could never forget the legacy of the all-stars who saved the people's lives.

Later, everyone began to look at me. One of the fans said, "Come on, Wart, this is your chance to show us your knowledge! Just join the quiz!" All of a sudden, the rest of the fans chanted, _"Join the quiz! Join the quiz! Join the quiz!_ _Join the quiz!_ "

"Fine." I signed the paper to participate in the quiz show. "But I'm doing this to win, not to become one of you."

"That's the spirit, Wart!" hurrahed Calem. "In any case, I have to go and give away some exclusive Geno figures. But I'll eventually be back and watch you ace the quiz."

Ultimately, I was put to the quiz show at the Lumoise Gym as a contestant. A young girl wearing a Dedenne costume, named Bonnie, was the host, whereas King Dedede wearing a tuxedo (Really?), Trevor, Shauna, and Tigerlily were my opponents. Yes, Stanley was recording us and me in particular.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 30th Trivia Quiz-Off: Hero Edition!" announced the blond-haired girl. "I will be your host, Bonnie, and right here we have King Wart, King Dedede, Trevor, Shauna, and Tigerlily as the contestants of this event! My job is to ask 20 questions, followed by some bonus questions for those with special consideration. The one in 3rd place will get a free Pikachu T-shirt (Because Pikachu's so cute!), the 2nd place contestant will receive a Kirby plushie (Because Kirby's so cute as well!), and the 1st place winner will be awarded with the grand prize of 50,000,000 Pokecoins, given by the Battle Chatelaines! As for the rest, the reward will be some delicious gingersnaps, so that way, EVERYBODY'S a winner!"

"Oooh, it's the money I want. Gotta win 'em all for myself!" I muttered with exhilaration.

"Let the quiz begin!_ Question Number One: What is the name of a set of playing cards with flowers? A: Poker, B: Hanafuda…"_

Before I let the host finish, I immediately pushed the button and answered, "It's _B: Hanafuda!_"

"Correct! You've earned 500 points! Did you know that Hanafuda is commonly played in the state of Hawaii in the US and South Korea, though under different names like Higobana and Hwatu?"

There came the 500 on my screen. "Beat that, you numbskulls!" I laughed.

"_Question # 2:_ _What was Mario's original nickname?_ _A:_ _Marty_,_ B: Link, C: Jumpman, or D: Red Longbottom?"_

The girl in the Sonic costume pushed the button before my chance. "Is it _Jumpman?_"

"That's right! 500 points are what you've earned! You see, Mario got the nickname after his amazing jumping ability; in fact, he has the highest jumps around, next to Luigi's."

Humph, I supposed it was okay, considering that I still had a chance to beat her.

Meanwhile, Little Mac and Kenny, as well as the kids, wanted to go see T.L. at the quiz show, but first, they had to get Roy, who cut in line out of his desire to get a free special Geno action figure from Calem.

"Back off, pipsqueaks! " Roy shoved the kids and teens, plus Clawgrip, Mouser, Fryguy, and Tryclyde, like dominoes when he arrived to the front.

_"__You know, I'm beginning to realize how the others feel when we harassed them, if we thought we felt bad enough already,"_ Mouser whispered to the three-headed "Serviper".

_"__For now on, we'll be nicer to all the fans even if they ARE geeks," _added Fryguy.

He then ordered Calem, who was providing the toys, "Gimme one of those figures you got here, and make it snappy!"

"You forgot to say to 'please'," prompted Suzibeth sassily outside the line.

"Also, it isn't very nice to just cut everyone in line like that," added Calem. "To make things fair, you're going to have to wait in line just like everyone else, and then I'll reconsider giving one to you, alright?"

"Says who? My dad told me that I don't have to take orders from anyone as long as I'm part of the Royal Koopa family. Now hand it over, or I'll tell Dad on you!" He then showed a walkie-talkie like device. "You see this? I can make a call to have him come over right now in a matter of minutes. Throw him a Pokemon, and he'll knock it down good. So you are going to give me the toy right now, or say your prayers to Arceus."

"_His dad's one guy I got to stay away from…_" thought Louie, shuddering.

Calem screamed. "Wait, you're bringing _the_ _King Bowser Koopa_? Okay_, _I'll give you the figure. Just don't call him! Please!" He gave Roy the Geno figure.

"Wise choice," laughed Roy, obtaining the toy.

_"__So do you have any more ways to get him to be nicer at all?" _Little Mac whispered to Kenny. _"We tried bribery, like promising him to buy him a super-sized Koop Scoop Sundae if he behaves, but he turned down the offer, citing that he love being mean."_

_ "__Don't worry, Macaroni, we'll think of a special plan to get him to behave. Wait and see."_

_ "__Because he's driving us crazy, maybe I outta show my moves and box him until he cries 'uncle'; but that could only get us into serious trouble."_

In the interim, after fifteen questions, the competition was really heating up like the hot springs. Shauna had 1,500 points, Dedede got only 500, Trevor received 2,000, but with 8,000 points including the bonuses, I was in first place, but on par with the babysitter in which on the last question, we answered the same correct answer at the same time. And yes, my friends, Little Mac, Kenny, Mario's trio, and Roy finally made it to watch us albeit somewhat late.

"There are only five mainstream questions left before the winner takes the grand prize!" announced Bonnie. "Question Number 16:_ Medusa is without a doubt, the true ruler of the Underworld, true or false?"_

Tigerlily and I both pushed our buttons and answered, "It's false!"

"That is once again correct, the two of you! It was actually Hades who was the real leader responsible for Medusa's resurrection as Pit's distraction so that he could start a war by spreading lies to various countries."

"Question Number 17: _Ballad of the Goddess is based on: A, Zelda's Lullaby, B, Song of Storms, or C, the SSB4 Theme Song?_

We both answered_ "_A, Zelda's Lullaby, for which the Ballad of the Goddess is a reversed version of the song!"

"Wow, you two are on fire!"

Lastly, on the 20th question…

"Final Question_: What is Princess Rosalina's relationship with Lord Gothic, founder of the Dilim? Is it A, Gothic is her greatest enemy in the galaxy, B, The two are twin siblings, C, Gothic had her put in a crystal prison to prevent her from changing a certain being's prophecy, D, They used to love each other until jealousy arose, or E, All of the above?_"

"Okay, now this is a question that I actually can't recognize," said T.L. feeling dumbfounded.

The rest of the contestants were also flabbergasted as little was known about the Shadow Lord, who remained secret for years.

_"__Lord Gothic? I have heard a little bit about him," _I thought to myself. _"But I don't know the definite answer. Help me, dear Arceus, since I'm in your world." _I pushed the button and took a wild guess. "Is it E, All of the above?"

"That is correct," announced the host calmly. "You realize that only a few fans got that answer exact. And since you were the only one of the two in the lead who answered, you have won the game with 50 million Pokecoins!"

Everyone began to scream my name, whistled, and clapped with full force.

"I don't believe it," I said. "I won the game! _I WON THE GAME! WHOO-HOO! BEAT THAT, CHUMPS! LET'S HEAR IF FROM ME, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! I HAVE WON 50,000,000 POKECOINS!"_'

"But wait, there is one special bonus round, in which you can win twice the prize you just won! Just be careful though; if you get the wrong answer, then the one in last place gets your prize."

"Did you say 'twice the prize'? Ooh hoo hoo. _This could mean twice the luxury, twice the jewelry, and the ability to buy the biggest luxury house plus a high-tech limousine!_ _In addition, there could be banquets, lavish 200-person parties, a butler who does everything for you, a fancy house with a huge pool, tons of rooms, a big comfy bed, and such, a high-tech supercar, a giant high-tech yacht, a flat-screen smart TV, super loud stereos, and so much more!_ Bring it on, baby!"

"Alright, here it is: _"When did the Year of Luigi end?"_

That question seemed quite easy as anniversaries focused on a specific person. "It ended after 2013."

Outrageously, there was a loud buzz. "I am sorry, but that is wrong!" Bonnie explained, "You see, since many fans were desperate to give Luigi extra spotlight out of dedication, it officially ended on _March 18, 2014_. Now, I clearly said that the one in last place gets your prize if you lose, and well, I made my word. In other words, King Dedede wins 100 million Poke!"

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" the fat penguin hollered, ending up with the last laugh. The quiz ended with a fanfare with Trevor receiving the Pikachu T-shirt, the babysitter with the stuffed doll, and Kirby's semi-friend laughing and diving into the pot of coins given by those lovely, top-hat-wearing Battle Chatelaines, who then gave him kisses.

"This can't be happening! N-O-O-O-O-O-O-O!" I screamed.

After the quiz, I took a long walk with loads of despondency and desolation; Mouser and the rest followed me.

"Hey, perk up, green guy," said Mouser. "You didn't really know much about having too much money, that's all. But other than that, you were smoking when you answered those hard questions in a flash."

"He's-s-s right," added Tryclyde. "You were indeed one of the most s-s-superior contes-s-stants in the entire game, once on par with that girl with the lovely costume. Besides, the host was right, money does-s-s not guarantee happiness-s-s. S-s-so give it a rest and enjoy those gingersnaps you just received, Wart."

Then, Tigerlily came to me for a word. "Hello, Wart. I just want to say that I was quite surprised with all of that knowledge you gave out from that big brain of yours, despite the fact that you were a bit annoyed with everyone playing with toys and wearing costumes, kind of like me."

"Please get lost, Tigerlily," I replied. "You were also in the lead as well. Just look at that stuffed Kirby doll you won. As for me, I lost all of the money all because of a dumb trick question that threw me off." After that, I wept comically, making a river tears. "Just what is the world coming to!? I needed the money!"

The babysitter gave me a hug as I was leaking. "It's alright, big fella. Everyone slips up once in a while, even me. I'm sure that you'll carry on even without the grand prize. Now think about the instance of Mila and her father, the highest-ranking fellows that once lived in the mansion on Windfall Island, according to the Hyrule Historia. When Mila was captured and surrounded in the Forsaken Fortress, her father paid all of his Rupees to Tetra and the pirates to save her. He couldn't stop thinking about her daughter in despair, and, realizing he loved her more than his possessions, he sacrificed his luxury treatment. Eventually, the two went from being the richest ones in Windfall to being the poorest, but learned a valuable lesson about the insignificance of money. When it comes to contentment, only people around, who love you, can bring it."

Unexpectedly, all of the geeks begin to spot me taking a stroll. One of them shouted, "Hey guys, look, it's Wart, the _Quiz Whiz_! They all shouted approval, despite my downfall.

"We all love you, Wart, even though you lost the quiz!"

"I want to learn more from you, big green dude!"

All chanted, "_Wart! Wart! Wart! Wart!_"

"What's all of this noise?" I asked.

"Apparently, they're all praising you for your exceeding performance at the show," answered Stanley the reporter, who suddenly showed up. "Of course, you didn't win the grand prize, but you've gained a cult following, and that's a more meaningful reward! So how do you feel about this, Wart?"

"They're still geeks, and they better not get in my way, although I do have to admit that it's kind of sweet that they're worshipping me." When the day ended, at home, I decided to write a summary on a journal for each day during the convention. I started on Day 1:

_Day 1: Today, after being urged by my companions, I was surrounded by a bunch of obsessive fans crazy for toys, cards, comics, and stuff! It has been quite loud, considering the rowdy music, fans screaming for Sonic, and especially that quiz show that I joined this evening. At the quiz, I was so close to winning, only to get the wrong answer on the bonus round… Maybe I'll have better luck next time…this is definitely not to say that I wanted to be one of the geeks. And by the way, my friends TOLD ME that they didn't want to tease anybody anymore, citing that they felt kind of terrible doing so._


	5. Chapter 5 - Greek and Green

It was Day 2: "Myth Monday". Apparently, the convention now had a specific theme, unlike yesterday, which was free-for-all. On that day, we all had to wear Kid-Icarus-themed costumes according to the schedule we received from the mail before this week. Tryclyde repainted himself as Hewdraw, a large, serpentine monster; Fryguy was dressed up as a Magmoo, a type of magma monster, Clawgrip was roughly Brawny Claws, and Mouser was Pyrrhon. And just like yesterday, I chose not to wear a costume. The new location for the gathering was Onett, the name of Ness's hometown.

Meanwhile, before seeing Little Mac, Kenny was having a discussion about babysitting Roy, with his dad, who also came to the convention along with the other kids in the family, in case you've been wondering.

"Son, has that kid been troubling you lately?" asked King K. Rool. "I feel your pain, considering that you had to buy toys, clip toenails, and serve meatballs to that little runt who treats the two of you like butlers. So here are some ideas: First off, you could convince Roy how fragile or lame certain toys are and that he would have to choose wisely, so that way you two pay less money. And to stop his bullying, either you bring him a friend he can talk to, or get someone bigger than him to fight back.

"Those sound like good plans. What would I do without you, Pops?" thanked Kenny.

"Um, I dunno. Reading a book?" sneered his sister.

"I think I'm good for now."

Far along, Kenny, who was depicted as Dark Pit, arrived to Onett via the magic Warp Pipe, along with his family to find his friends and Roy Koopa.

"Now remember what I told you, son," reminded Kenny's dad, "Show Roy how sloppy some toys look, and find him a friend."

After the reminder, King K. Rool's son left to see Little Mac, as Magnus, the mightiest human swordsman with the tattoo, and Roy Koopa. As for Tigerlily, who was now dressed up as Medusa with a pale face, snakes for hair, and regal purple and red robes with a gold trim, she came to us, along with Mario's trio, when my crew and I came to the entrance in the meantime.

"Good morning, Wart, Mouser, Fryguy, Clawgrip, and Tryclyde," she greeted while the kids waved at us with smiles.

"I suppose that my morning was a little better," I replied. "By the way, are you babysitting those kids or something?"

"Are you referring to Ginny, Suzibeth, and Louie? You're correct; I am looking after them. After I returned Louie to Daisy and the two girls to Peach, I received a phone call from each of the two princesses who commended me for doing a really good job looking after the kids, regarding how we played hopscotch and playing hide and seek before the event, and that I sang songs with them at the car and took them to see their favorite stars like Mega Man, who was dressed up as Captain Falcon. I also bought the children Mega-Sized Koop Scoop Sundaes after dinner…in which their parents don't know about that…_Shhh_."

"At least they had dinner after dessert, Tigerlily," replied Fryguy.

"And by the way, I forgot to tell you my real name on the first time we met. I'm Lilian Padilla. I earned my nickname after saving a Toad village from a tiger through singing calming songs."

"I see how it works…_Lily Pad_. Can we call you Lilly Pad for now on?" asked Mouser. That does ring a bell to your full name."

"Of course you may! Anyway, let me take all of you to the Archery Class, where the host resembling Palutena will teach you how to shoot arrows. Trust me; you are going to love archery. Stanley will be broadcasting the games that will occur after training, so don't forget to smile on the camera!"

"Hey Wart," added Ginny. "Did you know that Stanley used to be a bug exterminator who used to take on Donkey Kong years ago?"

"Was Donkey Kong an insect? I didn't think so," I scoffed.

So there we were at the class where we were to learn how to shoot arrows at various targets. And of course, all of the fans were cheering for me, like yesterday.

"There comes the great King Wart!" shouted one fan, much to my annoyance.

"Ready to shoot some bad guys?" added another.

They also complemented the costumes the kids were wearing. "Look! We've got ourselves some cute kids. One of them happens to be Palutena (Ginny), the second as Viridi (Suzibeth), and the boy as Pit (Louie)!

"This is Stanley speaking live on television, and here we have Wart and his friends coming to train for the Kid Icarus Battle Arena." The reporter then faced me. "So tell me, Wart, how would like to join a battle as a Skyworld Fighter?"

"Let's get this over with, so I can eat something Greek," I mumbled with impatience.

Training began at ten o'clock at the park. On the grass, after we rented some weapons at a stand, we all formed in rows long as a football field, watching the host arrive with grace.

"Greetings, fellow warriors, my name's Pallas Patia, as I'm said to be one of Palutena's descendants. I hope you've been all prepared for this exciting event, because at the Battle Arena, you are finally going to have the experience of the all-mighty and angelic Pit!"

Everyone cheered.

"_Wait a minute; she's a descendant of the Goddess of Light?_" I thought. "_Huh, that explains why she's nearly identical to her ancestor,_ _regarding the green hair._"

"Now let's start with the basics." Pallas showed us a bow and arrow. "Can you see this bow I'm holding? First, for best results, when aiming, focus on your dominant eye, which has the most accuracy in aiming and judging distances. And make sure the bow matches your eye." She then held up her bow. Next, don your shooting standpoint; without tension, your body should be perpendicular to the target and the shooting line."

"Aw, shoot, I wish I had hands-s-s instead of two more heads-s-s," groused Tryclyde's middle head. "I think I'll have to s-s-sit this-s-s one out."

"No need for hands, if you're a three-headed snake." the host replied, without worry. "Ever thought using those heads to wield the weapon, as well as your tail?"

"I could do that."

"Now, nock the arrow on the arrow rest...Lightly hold the dart…Raise and draw your bow in fluid motion…And finally, aim for the target!" After her arrow landed on the center of her target, we all followed her steps and managed to hit the targets…except some of us including me, who accidently shot Wario in the right buttock.

"YOWEE! That hurt!" the fat boy screamed, jumping high in the air. After that, Pallas quickly ran to him to pull the lodged arrow out and asked if he was okay, when he wasn't.

Ribbit, ribbit. That was so embarrassing.

Meanwhile, Little Mac and Roy were attempting to convince Roy to avoid the collectibles that were susceptible to breaking, in order to buy less. For example…

"Hey dorks, get me one of those Magnus action figures from that stand!" ordered Roy.

"Oh, no, you don't want that action figure!" protested Kenny.

_"__What are you doing this time? We have to follow orders!"_ Mac whispered.

_"__Wait and see, Macintosh." _Kenny then continued to Roy, "You see, that polystyrene toy received low ratings on the internet because it happens to be very prone to deformation when using it to hit a wall. Also, you may want to pay attention to the quality of the design, to see how SLOPPY it is."

Roy took a closer look at the toy. "Wow, I haven't realized how worthless this looks. I mean, they even used the wrong color for Magnus's skin; he's looks so pale."

Then, Waluigi, portrayed as the forging god Dyntos, showed up and grabbed one of the Magnus figures; he decided to drop it to test its rather poor durability; the toy's head, arms, and legs broke off as a result. "What kind of idiot makes this kind of junk in the first place?"

"You realize that you have to pay $5 for the figure you broke, right?" The vendor told the thin man, who then responded with a nervous laugh.

"It really is fragile," said Roy, putting the toy back. "For now on, I'll pay attention to toys I want to get. Thanks for the warning! For now on, we'll look for the EXPENSIVE ones! They have higher quality!"

"You tried, my man," Mac told Kenny while making a face palm. "Let's hope that he won't ask for too much."

Meanwhile, after shooting arrows, we learned how to use blades, which resemble laser guns with either a metal barrel or sword extending out of it; but instead of producing spheres of plasma energy like during Pit's lifetime, giant blueberries were shot out to make it safe; like the bow and arrows, I lost control of the weapon and made a rain of berries that end up on people's heads. Next, there came the staffs, wooden claws, wasters, rubber clubs, cannons, shields, and plastic arm-covering auntlets; sadly, it seemed that there was no weapon that I was able to wield, on the subject of my clumsiness and the various accidents of pointing toward a dozen trainees or two. As a result, Pallas came to me for a word:

"You seem to have a little trouble here and there. So please come ask me for help if you're struggling."

"Maybe I shouldn't have come here at all," I sighed. "I'm not a guy who was meant to fight! Only a geek would appreciate this kind of experience!"

"Don't defeat yourself, Wart. It takes practice before you get the hang of it."

The truth was that I struggled the most whereas all of my friends found their weapons of choice. Despite this however, after the inspiration of the weaponry, I had an idea of using a Bubble Beam; I managed to blow blue bubbles to hit the targets with accuracy, proving I was better off combating without using a contraption.

"Way to go, Wart!" cheered Louie, looking at the disintegrated dummies. "You should use that Bubble Beam to fight the enemies at the arena; it's just as powerful as the weapons."

"Pretty clever indeed," added the green-haired instructor. "I think you're better off relying on your own powers rather than the armaments you couldn't use properly."

"Don't mention it," I replied. "Please."

At 3:00, wearing armor, we all entered the arena located at an underground stadium. Mario, the founder of the geek gala, was the chiton-wearing host of the attraction. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!" announced Mario. "It's-a me, Mario, and I will be the host of the Kid Icarus Battle Arena. In this attraction, all participators' accuracy and coordination will be put to the test. But instead of attacking one another, each team will be given different objectives like tackling or avoiding specific enemies and gathering a certain amount of collectibles. Of course, because we don't want anyone to get injured or killed, due to ethical reasoning, we designed the holographic enemies to function similarly like toys, in addition to the armor to ensure the contestants' safety. Now remember, all teams can have up to four members, nothing more.

Because the rules were that groups were not to have more than four members, I had to leave my friends to form their own group, and team up with Ninten, Ness, and Lucas, all portrayed as the Fighters that wore wing-shaped visors and armor. As for the babysitter, her team consisted of the kids. And in case you were wondering, Mouser's weapon was a wooden claw; Clawgrip's was a club, and Tryclyde had one fire-themed cannon in which Fryguy was the fuel for its power (That's tough luck).

"Here we have Teams Titan, Zeus (My friends' team), Apollo (Lily's team) Nike (My team), Hera, Dike, and Gorgon. There will be seven rounds in which the one ending up in last place becomes dismissed. The last team remaining will receive a grand prize of a limited-edition Mini-Pit. Now, everyone, get your weapons ready, make sure your safety is put on properly, and don't forget, the most important thing to do is to have fun!" Mario then turned to Donkey Kong wearing the same clothes, "Blow the horn, DK!"

The ape blew the horn, in which the arena began. First, winged envelopes flew to each of ours; we opened them to find out what our missions were; ours was to destroy only the Kerons, which were later revealed to be cyclopic, winged amphibians. Then, the Toy-esque enemies arrived from the gates, ready to attack us. We were busy blasting projectiles at specific foes and avoiding those that shouldn't be shot to gain a high accuracy rate; in addition, dodging was involved, people were getting attacked at times, points were deducted from straying from the mission, and at the end, while no one could get a 100%, Team Dike (which included Wario) was automatically disqualified when revealed to be cheating by ramming the giant toys with an Starman that was altered so that the effects wouldn't be visible.

In Round 2, things have gotten a bit harder than before, due to the slightly higher quantity of enemies; our new mission was to tackle ten totem pole-like Stackjaws and five Gloomerangs wearing a crescent-shaped blade, no less than that. At the end of the round, Team Hera was out with a 29%; they all cried like babies when their hopes of winning the prize were gone.

In Round 3, there were even more enemies, as our third mission was to attack only Quoils. Well ahead, there were only two teams left: my team, and my friends'; after this sixth round, 'Lily Pad' and the kids were dismissed with a 69% since the extreme difficulty, but they cited with pride that "winning isn't everything".

"We're going to win this battle!" cheered Mouser. "Call us crazy, but we're gonna beat you, _green lips_!"

"Not in my watch, you rat," I replied.

On the final round, there were over 260 enemies in the arena; our last goal was to defeat as much enemies as possible, which was easy to follow, but nearly impossible to master as we were all overwhelmed by the mass amount of Stackjaws, Kerons, living vegetables, and such; not even my Bubble Beam did enough justice to save the boys in my team! Ultimately, Team Zeus won the tournament, and once again, I have failed to win a contest, despite being in the lead for Rounds 1, 3, 4, and 6.

"Hey, guys," Mouser told his team," looking at the giant screen above the dome, "We beat our boss by 18%! In other words, our team got a 90% while Team Nike got 72%!"

"Congratulations, Team Zeus," announced Mario. "You have won the Kid Icarus Battle Arena! _But Wart's team was quite close; they were just panicking._" He then called Pauline. "Show them what they won!"

Pauline, who was dressed up as the goddess of love Aphrodite, brought Mouser's team the Mini-Pits.

Mouser gently snatched one of the toys. "Well, look we got here!" He and the gang then came to me and my team to show me the toys they just won. Back in Subcon, the rodent with the shades was quite a big fan of Kid Icarus, proven by the numerous Greek mythology-based artworks he made, including a realistic painting of Viridi holding a mockingbird in the forest. And because of his dedication, he always wanted a Mini-Pit since he saw a commercial as a child. For a while, he made several attempts to make money in order buy the toy, like a lemonade stand and washing cars, but they eventually backfired. And now, his old wish finally came true, which is what I truly hate to admit.

"Ahoy there, Team Nike. We got ourselves these really _arrr_ Mini-Pits," bragged Clawgrip.

"And once again, I have lost the game," I replied.

"Are you kidding me right now?" asked Lucas, who was in my team. "Our jaws just dropped when you used your Bubble Beam to take down a MASS amount of those enemies, even as a beginner! So that's not to say that you were a failure."

"Besides, we're perfectly fine even without the prize,' added Ness. "Winning isn't everything, right?"

Later, outside the stadium, a vendor portrayed as Phosphora (Viridi's lightning-based minion) arrived near the drug store, serving yogurt to all of the fans. "I've got Greek yogurt! Get some nice, thick, and creamy Greek yogurt for only $2!"

"You know what's just as valuable as an action figure?" asked Ginny.

"Greek yogurt, which is said to be one of Palutena's favorite desserts," answered Tigerlily. She then faced me. "What do say we go get some, Wart, after an exhilarating day at the arena? You said that you wanted to eat something Greek."

"_I do enjoy having beautiful ladies around,"_ whispered Mouser, gazing at the vendor's youthful appearence.

And so we all bought the probiotic treat, which came in the flavors of plain, strawberry, honey, blueberry, and a combination of the aforementioned; I got blueberry for the antioxidants I needed. However, since I felt like I have never eaten this kind yogurt, I felt uneasy by simply looking at it. The babysitter and the kids encouraged me to just take one spoonful, and when I did, the treat tasted so rich and velvety that it felt like it had the divine clouds interspersed by the Greek gods. In fact, this made me remember that I have eaten this yogurt before back in Subcon when I was little. On the first time I tried it at on Jubilee Day, I've declared that it tasted far better than flies and algae because of how creamy it was.

When my crew and I got home, what I wrote on my journal was this:

_Day 2: At the end of the day, even though I didn't win the tournament, I actually felt kind of better ever since with the Bubble Beam, my special move, I've impressed everyone especially Ninten, Ness, and Lucas, who is planning to write poetic songs about me. What also made it better was that I had that tasty, childhood-remniscient yogurt served by the attractive vendor, who was given a kiss by Mouser. Now I wonder what surprises there are going to be tomorrow? One thing's for sure: there certainly will more fans cheering for me for how "awesome" I was. However, I'm not so sure if this is a step in the right direction…_


	6. Chapter 6 - A Link to the Blast

It was Day 3: Triforce Tuesday, so fans all had to dress up as Zelda characters, hence the name of the novel series. And speaking of Zelda, years ago, _at a pond beneath the Signpost Maze on Koholint Island, I've once met Link (who was a real character) and taught him the song "Frog's Song of Soul" on the ocarina, for 300 Rupees. I never saw him again since then_. Anyway, Mouser was portrayed as a pig-like Bokoblin, Fryguy was part of the rodent's torch, similar to Day 1, Tryclyde was a skull-headed Staldra from _Book #16:_ _Skyward Sword, _and Clawgrip was a yellow Karat Crab from _Book #17 :A Link Between Worlds_, with one claw bigger. And for the third time, I wore no costume.

As we went to the Warp Pipe, the new location for the geek fest was an ultramodern mall at Dream Land, Kirby's home place. Here, we heard _The Ballad of the Goddess_ from Book #16 sung by Ribbon the Fairy, one of Kirby's friends:

_Oh youth, guided by the servant of the goddess,_

_unite earth and sky, and bring light to the land._

_Oh youth, show the two whirling sails the way to the Light Tower..._

_and before you a path shall open, and a heavenly song you shall hear._

When we met the girl and the children, as we could see, Lily was Hilda, Zelda's purple-schemed counterpart from Book #17_, _Ginny was the bird-esque Medli from _Book #17:The Wind Waker_, Suzibeth was the green-haired Saria, and Louie was Link.

Meanwhile, Little Mac, now dressed up the red-haired Groose from _Skyward Sword_ and Kenny Rool, as a Lizalfo with a giant iron gauntlet, were still having problems with Roy Koopa; even though they managed to lower the amount of action figures the Koopaling wanted; they still had to obey his flood of orders like taking him to see the celebrities for autographs and of course, paying a lot of money for the toys, the latest Zelda book, entitled _The Hyrule War_, and later, collectible cards.

"My dad told me that friends can help someone stop bullying people by being nice," Kenny told Mac.

"So you're saying that we should find someone to get him to behave? You know, that's not a bad idea at all. And if it ain't going to work, well, I might as well deliver a good punching to teach him a lesson."

Kenny laughed nervously. "Let's not go there, shall we?"

So based on one of King K. Rool's advices from Kenny's cell phone, they decided to have Roy befriend their friends so he would think twice before bullying anyone else. First, they called for Diddy Kong, as Link, but the monkey ran away the Koopaling out of his terror. Next, they found Nana, as Talon, and Popo, as the green elf Tingle, but the Ice Climbers were busy play fighting on stage. Five friends later, the two felt like they lost hope until a seemingly cold female teenager, dressed up as Ravio, the purple rabbit-hooded Lorulian counterpart to Link, came by.

"Do you know anyone who has a _Kaepora Gaebora _card?" The girl asked. "I'll trade it with a Gannon card."

"Ooh, ooh! I have an extra Kaepora Gaebora card these punks bought me!" Roy spoke up. He gave the card with the owl to the girl for the other she was offering.

"It was nice doing business with you," said the teenager. "By the way, what's your name? Mine is Virginia."

"The name's Roy. Say, I wonder if you take off that hat so I'll know what you really look like?"

"Umm, okay." Virginia took off the hood and showed off her long hair, purple as lilacs and smooth as silk.

"You're even lovelier without the hat," said Roy, gazing at the girl's face.

"Thanks. You look handsome in those sunglasses as well. After all, real men wear pink. Maybe in another time, we could trade again?"

"You betcha. _Man, if that girl has like a ton of cards, then I gotta catch 'em all from her to complete my collection. And if that doesn't work, I might as well make a bet to win them in a card game._"

After the talk, Virginia put her purple hat back on and left. As a result, Roy was left with red cheeks, indicating a crush on the violet-haired girl. He then told his caretakers, "Hey, dweebs, why don't you do something nice to her like buying her chocolate or even getting her an exlcusive Impa action figure…like what's ON my list?"

Little Mac and Kenny groaned, but they nonetheless followed his orders.

Meanwhile, from a high-rated restaurant, our crew bought the special, which was some kind of spaghetti with squid ink, shrimp, and white truffle oil. Most of us slurped it down like a _pink foam ball inhaling like a black hole_, but before I was familiar with what it was, I asked Lilian this:

"Does this even look edible to you? This looks like hair from a mermaid. You know, I don't recall eating hair in my life."

"You're saying that you never had spaghetti before?" she replied, eating the food.

"I never had. All I ever ate were flies and algae. Have I mentioned that I also hated vegetables, especially turnips?"

"Don't worry, green guy, there are no turnips in the spaghetti. Besides, this tastes really good. You should take one bite if you want to know why. After all, you're sick of eating bugs and chlorophyta, aren't you?"

"If you can eat Greek yogurt on your first time since Jubilee Day, then you're capable of gorging this meal like Kirby," added Fryguy.

"Alright." So I closed my eyes and slowly tried the spaghetti to get it over with. Apparently, I adored the noodles and like everyone else, I slurped it all like if I was in China. Consequently, I began to burp like a motorcycle, causing a distant biker to run, believing his motorbike to be on runaway. "You're hearing the wrong motorcycle!" I shouted.

Later, as we went for a walk, we saw Kirby and King Dedede on stage reenacting the battle between Link and Ganondorf. The pink puff was trying to be mediocre playing the role of Link, swinging weakly, but as the king of evil was even worse on his routine; this was when I decided to get in and improvise;

"Hey, marshmallow!" I shouted to Kirby. "That ain't how you defeat him!" I grabbed his plastic Master Sword and threw it away. "This is how you show the Dark Lord who's boss!" For the first time, I decided to use my magic on the excuse for the Gerudo King of Theives by turning him tiny as a mouse.

"I'm tiny…but I'm still fat as ever!" cried Dedede, who I shrunk. "You're still mad about da quiz show, ain't ya?

"I still am."

Ostensibly, the audience was amazed with my performance serving the role as the "back-up wizard". After I chose to turn the _stuffed turkey_ back to his original size, even though I was still jealous that he won the Poke-coins, those bothersome fans insisted that I put on a costume for the next play. Even though I tried to refuse several times, I was ultimately dressed up as the dark Wizard Agahnim from _Book #3: A Link to the Past_, marking the very first time that I wore a costume in my whole life. In the second performance, I was to encounter another boy as Link, kind of like how Gannondorf was fought. Unlike Kirby however, he put skill on his swordplay, since he seems to be inspired by my skills in magic. First, I summoned Chuchus (the jelly creatures) made of marshmallows and ordered them to attack the boy, who sliced them up real good; the floor ended up sticky with marshmallow cream. Then, I subpoenaed some pillow Moblins (pig-like beasts) which managed to knock the brat over, but their arms and legs tore off due to their fragile build. Finally, I brought bat-like Keeses made of paper, in which "Link" splashed them with water from a bucket; wasn't that supposed to be cheating? At the end, as much I am crazy to say this, but I started to realize how fun it was to play with a child, undisciplined or mild; thus, I awarded the boy with a plastic Triforce, as it is how the Zelda stories work. Later on, I was invited to several duels with more children with "heat" rising and the inclusion of my _ex-Subconian_ crew in each round, much to the interest of Lily, Mario's trio, the audience, and Kirby.

After a long and exhilarating day at the stage, Mouser, the whole gang, and I laughed and begin to discuss how Clawgrip's ticklish spot, his carapace (Back in Subcon, there was a myth that ticking it would turn the crab into a chicken), was discovered by "Impa", who was a little girl, how Tryclyde had his skull masks broken just by getting them hit by Nana's/Talon's broom during the abduction scene, and how poor Fryguy got splashed by the frightened Popo/Tingle when he got close to him (For years, everyone usually mistakened the fire demon as normal fire, resulting in him getting extinguished every time he is met, much to his annoyance). After the talk, I revisited my memory during the time as a "frogling"; on stage, I used to serve the role as King Dedede, stealing all of the food in Dream Land. A snowman-like Flurry was portrayed as Kirby, whose goal was to defeat me and reclaim the food to feed to the residents. After the play sadly, the King of Subcon ordered me, as a servant, to never go on stage again for how "silly" I've been. This happened to affect my nostalgia, as my experience privileges were more limited to avoid ending up as an "okatu".

At night, I wrote on my journal all about the time when I ate that black spaghetti, wore a costume and played with the children on stage, since I was little, and how I realized that today was the most forgiving, much to my preference as there were neither nerve-wracking attractions nor that annoying reporter Stanley bothered me consistently in which he instead focused more on interviews on special guest stars like the real Knuckles, who was dressed up as Vaati from _Book #12: The Minish Cap_, and Meta Knight wearing Majora's Mask.


	7. Ch 7 - 101 Ways to Catch a Thief

It was Day 4: Wonder Wednesday, in which special- I mean SUPER SPECIAL guests, called the _Wonderful Ones_, who inspired a comic book series based on their true stories, are said to APPEAR in Diamond City, Wario's home place. Call me a fool, but I was actually a little more excited to see the colorful superheroes in person for the first time…_until I later on realize that I was reverting into someone I use to be... _ Anyway, after my crew put on their 'Wonder' costumes with the black pointed masks and clothes based on their favorite culture and color; for example, Mouser was a ninja in purple, Clawgrip was a pirate in blue, and Tryclyde was a pharaoh in yellow. And out of my enthusiasm, I was a French chef in brown.

This time, unlike the previous days, we brought Robirdo, a robotic version of Birdo who serves as our replacement of the real former friend. The reason why we brought her is so that she guards us from any thief who is willing to steal any of our property, since Diamond City was known for its high crime rate of 60%. Luckily, our destination wasn't distinct from the planet we lived in, so we had Robirdo drag all of us in a wagon to get there. When we arrived, we met Lillian Padilla as a pink "Wonder-Magician", Ginny, who was a red "Wonder-Princess", Suzibeth, portrayed as an orange "Wonder-Samurai", and Louie, as a "Wonder-Doctor".

"That's a nice robot you invited," Lily told me.

"Thank you for the complement, young lady," replied Robirdo with a British tone. "The name is Robirdo, Birdo's substitute. Due the number of potential criminalities in Diamond City, I am reprogramed to keep an eye on my master's belongings as well as his friends'."

"Today, the local law enforcements have been dramatically strengthened," suggested Suzibeth, "but you're welcome to join us..."

"…as long as you like," added Louie. He then gulped briefly. "_Let's hope you're not going to hurt us…"_

At 9:00, there came the host Mario, portrayed as Wonder Red, along with a new co-host named Armand-Guglielmo the stilted beagle (who appeared in _The Origin of Bowser _as a barista), as "Wonder-Dog", hence his own species.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!" announced Mario. "This is Mario speaking, and it's a extra special day today.

For the first time ever," added AG, "you will get to meet the staff members of the Wonderful 101. Let me introduce the Wonder Ones!"

From a limousine, there arrived the Wonder Ones: Wonder-White, the silent and disciplined ninja with the claws, Wonder-Black, the short university student, Wonder-Green, the fat French boy with a ray gun, Wonder-Yellow, the Russian army soldier with a hammer, Wonder-Blue, the cool detective with a sword, Wonder-Pink, the feisty Olympian with her long her used a whip, and last, but not least, Wonder-Red, the school teacher and leader of the pack. After the crowd cheered and gave the superheroes a strong applause, the theme song "The Won-Stoppable Wonderful 101" began to play:

_Danger's comin', loomin' large, so who's gonna make a stand?_

_The 101 are takin' charge, the line is drawn in the sand_

_Knuckles crack in two hundred and two different ways_

_But each and every one has got the same thing to say_

_Red: Unite Morph! Because their hearts beat as one_

_Blue: Unite Hand! And put the bad guys on the run_

_When the job's too ominous for an average Jill or Joe_

_They go anonymous and watch their powers grow!_

_Got no fame, no fortune to claim Fightin' for the status quo_

_Don that mask and take 'em to task Hurry now it's time to go_

_They can do it; they can do it, 'cause they're heroes second to none_

_The won-stoppable Wonderful, Wonderful 101!_

Meanwhile, Little Mac as a "Wonder-Boxer" and Kenny, a.k.a. "Wonder-Archer", now gained more freedom since Roy was spending time with Virginia trading and collecting cards. This time, though, King K. Rool as a "Wonder-Witch-Doctor" (It should've been "wizard doctor" since a witch is always FEMALE) came along with the two in order to buy them the merchandise they wanted. Apparently, he was being nice to them after all the babysitting woes they had to undergo.

"I feel terrible about you two being forced to take care of that Koopaling only receive names and insults. You took my advice, son, right?"

"Done that," replied Kenny. "But we still had problems. Luckily, Roy's now spending time with a girl, meaning that we don't have to take orders at least for a while."

"Well, now that I'm here, as a favor, I'm willing to buy you ANYTHING you want and deserve! I've got tons of cash 'cause I'm the king!"

"Did you say "anything"?" asked Little Mac, with his irises enlarged.

"Anything! I don't want you running short on money, including those won from the boxing tournament, _Macaroni_. Now, what can I get for you two?"

"How about the limited edition Jergingha figure on spotlight?" said Mac and Kenny together, with excitement.

In the meantime, Roy Koopa and Virginia were busy playing a trading card game (TCG for short) on a table outside at Mona Pizza (where A.G. the dog now works as a chef) with some fanboys watching, for the vast amount of cards they owned.

"I'll give you a Wonder-Painter card, in exchange for your Wonder-Witch," laughed Roy.

"Gee, thanks," replied Virginia. "And now, I'll trade you my seventh Wonder-Yeti for the Wonder-Rock you've got."

"Oh no, that's the first one my caretakers bought me. How about my second Wonder Pink instead?"

"That's fine with me. And speaking of Wonder Pink, at the red carpet, I've seen that she now wears a pink skirt, just like in her picture on the card you're giving me. If you ask me, I think this is probably because she's sick of everyone staring at her black panties, but that's just my logical guess."

"You got the right concept, sweetie. Now just imagine if those underpants were stolen by a purple bunny wearing Bowser Jr.'s bandanna. _That would be extremely embarrassing especially if the Queen of Rage didn't wear a skirt_."

"You mean Nabbit?" suggested Virginia. "And it WOULD be unjust to steal someone's underwear. Now why don't you stay here while I get gelato for the two of us?"

"Get me mint chocolate chip, please!" Roy then turned to everyone around him with an unfriendly look. "What are you looking at, losers? Look away from our stuff and scram! Just because you're jealous doesn't mean that you have the right to get in our way!"

The fans backed away steadily in response.

"That's better. _Now where's Nabbit?_"

For the time being, our crew got in the long line (I mean, REALLY LONG LINE) to get an autograph from the Wonder Ones. By the time we met the superheroes, we heard a lady screaming softly when her purse was stolen.

"We just heard a lady screaming," said Wonder Red. He then pointed his finger and continued with eagerness, "I think this is a job for-"

"Oh, no, no, no, don't worry about it!" Tigerlily protested while waggling her hands. "We'll go see her and help her out. Just keep doing what you need to do!"

"So much for autographs," groaned Mouser.

"Are you sure no evil is lurking? So be it. We'll keep doing our job while you go see the lady. Don't worry; since you're a nice girl, we'll give you priority for the signatures when you're back."

And so the babysitter ran to the see the woman with the brown curly hair; Robirdo and I came along to help her.

"Who stole your purse?" asked Lily with concern.

"It was some purple bunny wearing a toothy-lipped bandanna. I tried to snatch him, but it suddenly vanished!"

"It could be Nabbit wearing an invisible cloak," I assumed. So we explored every store, every street, and every boulevard to detect someone who was short, purple, fast and nimble. For a while, we had no luck looking for that stupid vermin, until Robirdo saw Nabbit snatching some toys on a shelf…without paying anything!

"After him!" Lily yelled.

We all tried to capture him with our bare hands, but he jumped in the air, two times higher than Mario. Next, we began chasing him as fast as we could, but he was too quick, quicker than my robot (It looks like she wasn't advanced enough to catch a thief)!

"Stupid Nabbit! Haven't I told you before? Toys are for GEEKS!" I hollered while pointing at him.

Then, hundreds of fans faced me like if I did something wrong, although they weren't looking too offended by what I just said.

"Come on, you're still calling us "geeks" even though we all respect you?" complained Lubba, the fat purple Luma. "Now if we help you nab that rabbit, promise us you'll stop calling everyone what you just called us."

"Fine, I'll stop. Just think of a way to rab that Nabbit- I mean nab that rabbit!"

"Everyone," declared another devotee, "This looks like a job for the next Wonderful 101!"

Now that everyone agreed to help us, over one-hundred-and-one (Hence the theme) pictures of traps have been drawn on separate sheets of paper. The first contraption involved Robirdo making a trail of toaster pastry pieces (the bait) leading to a bird cage 10 feet high from the ground, in which the rope is to be cut by an axe to drop it down just like the good o' days. After five minutes of waiting, Nabbit was there to munch the "poptart" pieces lying on the ground; unfortunately, he already noticed the cage before he finished eating, so he ran off immediately. Some of the fans tried to chase him until some moron named the _Villager_ didn't pay attention and cut the cord to drop the cage, imprisoning them.

Next came Plan #2: Shooting Nabbit with tranquillizer s while hiding under bushes. Based on this idea, we, including the robot, wielded dart guns and shrouded ourselves in scrubs; by the time the thief arrived, Robirdo tried to shoot him, but the lagomorph dodged the darts by jumping and spinning like Kirby. To make matters more unfortunate, some of the _okatus _were the ones hit by the tranquilizing darts avoided by the hare.

"Nabbit should be an acrobatic," moaned Toadette, one of the punctured victims, before she lied down.

After that, Nabbit continued to steal more valuables, including jewelry, action figures and King K. Rool's money…that were supposed to be used to buy his son and Little Mac the Jergingha figures. (That's unfortunate.) So came Plan #3: The Pitfalls. In this strategy, Robirdo buried some round seeds with an exclamation point on the dirt while we waited for the thief to fall into one of the holes to be trapped. When he arrived and stepped into one of the traps, he performed a split to hold himself from falling all the way down; then, he jumped away from the hole and ran off. Some of us tried to chase him once more, but we fell into the Pitfalls and got stuck. When we got out, the bottom half of our bodies were covered in dirt.

After 97 more of Robirdo's failed acts, tons of folks had their toys, money, jewelry, and property robbed by that pesky lagomorph in a matter of minutes. So for Plan 101, our last hope, we had to call Wonder Red for help since he had more experience with fighting crime than any of us.

"Glad you finally called me for help," he said. "I understand that you wanted me to have an easy day, but for now on, if it's too big of a job, always leave it the pros. I'm always more than glad to help out. Now who wants to merge together for my Unite Morph to snatch that formidable Nabbit?"

"We all do!" shouted the fans.

"Then gather around!" All of the visitors came closer to the superhero to be electronically combined to for a Unite Morph via Red's Wonder Liner, whatever it looked like exactly.

The first shape was the Unite Hand, with a balance of power and speed and the ability to assimilate fire. When Nabbit arrived, Wonder Red attempted to grab him, but the bunny jumped over the hand; WR swung his arm again, only to miss once more. "A nimble one you are."

So he transformed the hand into the Unite Sword and tried hitting Nabbit with skill, but he was still no match for the bunny. Then came the Unite Gun, Unite Whip, Unite Bomb, and so on, but Red simply couldn't stop the vermin in any way. Then, Nabbit stopped dodging and heard the song _My Fair Share_ by Seals & Crofts, played with a flute. Mesmerized, he slowly walked to where the song was played; when he arrived, he saw that it was the purple-haired Virginia who was playing my magic flute that I transacted for her Yoshi clock, back in the swap meet.

"Come on, be a good bunny and please bring back from your bag all of what you've taken," told the girl calmly and politely. "If you do so, I promise to get you something you've always wanted."

Nabbit obeyed, dumped everything he stole from his sack, returning them. Then, everyone came to reclaim their property; King K. Rool also recouped his money to buy his son and the boxer the figures. After that, Virginia thanked me for giving her the instrument and told everyone with pride, "Nabbit will be thieving no more!" All cheered for her louder than a lion, whereas Wonder Red and the rest of his gang, who showed up, rewarded her by giving her a badge; Lily and I also received autographs for "noble effort" and the trade with the purple-haired girl.

Meanwhile, Roy Koopa, licking his mint gelato cone, saw Nabbit and realized that he was busy stealing valuables out of obsession. "Dang Nabbit," he muttered, _"_you were supposed to steal all of our cards and then secretly give me back my cards with the addition of Virginia's, like what we planned so I could have all of them to myself. But apparently, you got distracted by those rich runts' jewelry and junk! I guess that'll teach me to never trust a purple rabbit to do a simple task."

After the encounter, we arrived to the concert where the Wonder Ones were the singers toward the audience. While they performed in the form of a musical band, I began to once again revisit my childhood; back then, I used to read lots of comic books focused on the original Wonder Ones before the present. In one of the stories, they rescued a group of kindergarten students at school and defeated the giant troll who disguised himself as the principal to abduct the kids. There was also the final episode where the colored heroes first encountered Jergingha, the founder of the Geathjerk, before Earth Defense War I; in the end, the originals retired, and their successors took their place after the war. When all of the king's "fellow subject" in the kingdom, in addition the frogs, saw me reading those comic books, they called me names all the time and told me not to read "such fictional nonsense" ever again. I was miffed, considering that I was too "weird" to have friends back then, but I nonetheless obeyed.

Later, after the concert, I began to hear some voices, near an abandoned Pizza Dinosaur restaurant (It's also the name of Mona Pizza's former rival franchise bankrupt as of now, due to the poor service and food), that sounded familiar to the frogs back in my old place; it sounded like they were gossiping:

_"__Can you believe it, Fred?" _said one voice. _"Someone is reverting into the one geek we once knew and hate, after all these years. What a little kid."_

_"__I know right?" _replied "Fred"._ "That baby needs to grow up and realize that he's been tricked into spending money for worthless and unhealthy junk that does nothing to support life!"_

After Robirdo took me and crew home at night, I wrote on my diary about everything that happened today, like the previous days:

_Day 4: We were all to get signatures from my favorite superheroes until Nabbit distracted us by stealing. I never thought I'd see the day where we faced a crime that seemed to be simple, but nearly impossible to handle. 101 plans have done no justice whether it's traps, darts, magnets, catapults, or even a fusion of a horde of fans by Wonder Red. But that thief was finally stopped when a girl played the flute to tame him. Later, I began to think why I bothered to attempt to save the day in the first place, as all I wanted to do was to get an autograph from the Wonder Ones. Then again, during the concert, when I was getting closer to my childhood, I have a feeling that I'll regret participating in the con; something is telling me to grow up…_


	8. Chapter 8 – Fashion Passion

It was Day 6: Dream Thursday, with the theme of Animal Crossing. Unlike the other days, though, instead of wearing costumes, we wore villager-designed clothes that were just delivered by Pete the pelican. I chose the jade plaid tee, Mouser picked the watermelon, Clawgrip wore the deep blue tee (reminds me of "deep blue sea"), Tryclyde put on the afros, Fryguy chose the green and blue Gracie glasses, and Robirdo put on the bad plaid shirt.

Our new location was Toad Harbor (From Mario Kart 8), in which we arrived through a ride in the robot's wagon, like yesterday. There, we saw the babysitter wearing a blue argyle tee, Ginny in a bunny shirt, Suzibeth as an astronaut, and Louie dressed in Roman armor. As a result, I was beginning to wonder why we weren't wearing costumes, like yesterday or the day before that. Then, I began to wonder if there was going to be some kind of fashion show hosted by some giraffe according to the brochure I was reading.

The fans found me and my crew in one of the cable cars that was going to head to the destination of a shopping area so that they could convince me to sign up for the costume fashion show; I disavowed, but I had Lily to sign up instead since she was the one who was perfect for the competition. After the bus ride, I began to wonder what a fashion show had to do with a fan convention until on the billboard, we saw photos of last year's contestants wearing animal accessories along with their mainstream outfits; for example, Toadette was seen wearing a baseball uniform with black blue wings, a beak, and yellow feet, kind of like a snooty bird named Robin. Nearby the bench, there was also Penny Crygor wearing pink sneakers, a melon hat, a "lovely dress", and a pink squirrel's ears and tail; this made me assume that she was portrayed as Peanut, known for calling people "slacker". So of course, the fashion show turned out to be a dedication to the culture of "Animal Land", with the emphasis of civilized critters.

"So how will this contest work exactly?" asked Mouser, scratching his head.

"We'll find out…" answered Louie.

"…when we get to the attraction," finished Ginny.

"Enough with the verses," I croaked angrily. "It's getting really bothersome!"

"Alright then…" gulped the boy with his pupils shrunk. _"Bet he's going to hurt us if we do it again…" _

Anyhow, there came a meeting on our area with Gracie the giraffe, as the new host, and Stanley, who was recording me once again since Myth Monday.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! This is Stanley speaking, and here, we have our beloved frog attending the introduction of our new host before the fashion show begins. So Wart, are you willing to join the competition with your style the most accurate to that of the subject?

"First off, it's not me who is joining, but rather the babysitter who's always after me, in which I accepted this since the first day. _Sigh_…"

"He's right," said Lily. "I'm the one who signed up, because he believes I'm more likely the person who's fond of fashion. _Have I mentioned that I LOVE dressing up?_"

Then, Mona showed up to see the babysitter to find out that she was participating; keep in mind that that the two have been friendly rivals who determined who was better since elementary school, especially when it came to competing for the best costumes, best looks, or otherwise. "Good day, Tigerlily."

"Hello there, Mona."

"It looks like you've signed up for Blurry Match for the first time. You better hope to find the right clothes with luck because I happen to be noticeable for winning the most rounds in history, throughout my lifetime."

"Well, even though this is my first time, I'm well known for my critical thinking at school, like how I'm always the first to answer certain riddles correctly."

"Okay then." Mona asked surrealistically, "Here's one riddle: "'If you look you cannot see me. And if you see me you cannot see anything else. I can make anything you want happen, but later everything goes back to normal. What am I?'."

"That's easy; it's your imagination. You got anything to say?" she smiled with intimidation.

"Dang! That's what I was going to say!" yapped Mouser.

"Just like when you promised not to eat the piece of cheese on Luigi's prototype of his spring-loaded trap," scoffed Fryguy. "In reality, you did try to lick it, only to get your tongue stuck by the snare."

"I didn't get to EAT it, though."

"You're good," the pizza girl told the babysitter. "But this is just a warm-up, so we'll see if you can beat me on the contest or not. Armand-Guglielmo will be my supervisor."

"You're on."

While Mona was testing Lily, I continued to Stanley, "Secondly, what do you mean by 'the most accurate to that of the style'?"

"You will find out when Gracie explains how the contest works," replied the reporter.

So the meeting began when the giraffe arrived to the stand; surprisingly though, there was no sign of Mario whatsoever, but why?

"Hello, darlings! Gracie's the name of your new host, and this game is called "Blurry Match", where you have to wear what's close to what your beloved animal is wearing and represent what he or she is. I will be giving you hints to help you find the concept of your favorite villagers' trends and physical description, but it's up to you to pick the style that is the most accurate to theirs. There will be five rounds, wherein for each, the participant with the lowest accuracy is eliminated when the models show up. When the contest begins, I'll be giving you all cards for the hints; while you only have 45 minutes before you firm up, take the time to read the tag because you have to pick your fashion wisely as there are only so many to choose from. Help from your friends is permitted."

"One question," asked Louie, raising his hand high in the air. "Where is Mario? He usually comes here to host the attractions."

"Mario is still around as the true host, honey…somewhere." She then continued, "Now let the contest begin! And remember to look as fabulous as you can!"

So all of the contestants (both males and females obviously) received their first cards providing the hints in the form of easy-to-understand riddles; they said, _"I have the color signifying grass, and my beak is pointy, enough to break glass. The theme of luxury is all that glitters, but my talent in soccer is what makes foes jitter." _

"Hmm, so the first animal is said to be green as grass," suggested Lily. "A beak is mentioned as well. So it's quite likely that it's a bird who apparently likes sports. Say, Wart, do you think you can help me figure out what to wear on the first round? I've heard that you were a top critic in fashion years ago."

"Alright, I'll help," I responded without hesitating. "But only for this competition." If anything, I always knew how that babysitter always wanted to be in a fashion since she was a little kid. She would often tell Mac and Kenny that it was an extension of personality, in order for them to get into it, in which they had not. The two would tell her that it's what inside that counts, but she felt skeptical about the regards of that adage, citing that while it's true, bullies were superstitious of certain individuals based on their appearance. So she was destined to help others show off their feelings through style.

Like if this was a game show, we headed to a specialized retail store to rent the bluish-black-haired girl the clothes we need: a mask representing the face of a green bird, sneakers and a soccer uniform; the problem was that we did not know the right color for the uniform and shoes, so we had to guess whether it's the yellow outfit and red footwear, or otherwise; this made me a bit dizzy when I saw all of the Sometime during the situation, Lily saw Little Mac and Kenny buying clothes just like us.

"Tigerlily! It's so nice to see you again!" spoke the boxer, waving at her. "How have you been so far, during the last four days?"

"Fine, thank you."

"Are you having a good time in Blind Match?" asked Kenny. "Because it looks like you're holding that card the giraffe gave you, meaning that you signed up to participate."

"Why, of course of I'm having fun right now. After all, I love fashion! Maybe except when I'm competing with Mona. By the way, shouldn't you be looking after Roy Koopa?"

"Oh, he's reading comic books and playing a card game with a 16-year-old girl named Virginia," answered Mac. "Since he won't control us for now, we're going to try out the spotlight clothes exclusive to the villages from the Animal Kingdom."

"Well, we're happy that you two are free from those chains that mean Koopa put you in," said Suzibeth, "so why don't you come join our group and help Lily win the competition?"

"We'd be happy to help her, kid! So what do you say we get started?"

Eventually, Mac made a decision to have Lily wear the bird mask, yellow soccer uniform, blue shorts, and orange sneakers. Subsequently, she came to Gracie, along with the competitors, for a fashion check.

"You all look so cool, as soccer players!" complemented the giraffe. "But I can see that there's a little bit of variation in terms of color, like orange and brown, as well as the type. You better hope that your style matches that of surprise model as close as possible, because he has the colors most of you DON'T exactly have." She then called the model, "Jitters, why don't you come up to show what you're wearing?"

Jitters approached and it turned out he was indeed a green bird wearing a yellow uniform and "blue shorts", which is actually his underbelly. "When you're a team of one, you're always captain!"

"Let's see here," resumed the host, analyzing the contestant's clothes. "Mona gets a 600 points, for wearing a blue shorts and a green bird mask, but having a blue uniform when it should be yellow, Luke Koopa gets only 250 points for wearing a woodpecker (should've been a jay) mask that's green and orange sneakers, Lily gets 800 for coincidently matching all of the colors, and Nina gets 400 for just blue shorts and orange sneakers. So for this round, it looks like Lily is in the lead!"

We all gave her applause since we succeeded in getting her in the lead. Surprisingly, the last word of the riddle, which was "jitter", turned out to be the name of the villager on stage.

"Not bad, Lily," clapped Mona. "Not bad at all."

For the meantime, three more rounds of Blurry Match have passed. On the second round, the contestants had to dress up as someone with "a part rhyming with hose", "the expression of snow", and the "dress from a carnival", who is later revealed to be Margie the elephant in a jester's shirt; Mona won that time with 640 points (Meanwhile, Lily came in second with 600). On the third, Lily succeeded for having a pink bunny hood and a teal cheerleader uniform to resemble Chrissy the bunny. As for the fourth, all were tied for putting on wolf costumes and a tuxedo, unexpectedly similar to Wolfgang's current appearance.

Now came the final round, with this poem, the longest of 'em all: _"I live underground, but I rise for a reason. There are some people committing some treason. Ever thought of pressing reset? Because a good scolding is what you'll get. Today, I have no helmet or axe; I look like if I owned gold in sacks. If anything, I'm powerful with jewels and gold. My head's got something shiny and bold."_

At first, it seemed easy since we all assumed that it was Mr. Resetti, the ill-temple mole, portrayed as a king. However, the hard part was figuring out what he looked like; there were many types of crowns to choose from in the costume store, as well as the specific number of jewelry and the patterns for the robe. Later, Lily suddenly told us that Tom Nook has mentioned to her at his store that Resetti was always a fan of King Tut since he "traveled to Egypt" in the Real World, and that he was fascinated by the pharaoh's valuables, like his scarab bracelet and Thoth amulet, and how there were claims of a curse in which visitors died from visiting the tomb. Even though we weren't sure about this, we decided to get her a mole mask and the Egyptian clothes, including the gold hat with stripes, after making a mess from digging various costumes.

When the girl came back to Gracie for the results, she saw Mona with a nearly similar costume; so far, the two were both tied in first place, but I wondered what would happen if the game ended in a tie. As for the rest however, they were all portrayed as typical mole kings with crowns pointy or royal.

"The results are in! Mr. Resetti, how about you come up and show everyone what you're wearing?"

"I'm here now." Like Lily and somewhat her rival, Resetti wore a shendyt (an apron worn around the waist), a false beard and a head piece (which was a nemes). "So far, there are two girls that have been number one, two times for each. And now, they look similar to what I'm wearing, but I'm not quite sure if I can say the same for the rest though. Which one shall I choose? Hmm…I hope no one ain't going to reset this moment, because someone, who's been giving me those tasty macrons, is about to be surprised."

"Hey, I'm the one who sent you those cookies every month!" exclaimed Lily, surprised with her eyes widened.

"Then who do you think has the most matching clothes? That's right; it's you, _Lily Pad_, one of my most favorite rule followers in the world!"

Gosh, I couldn't believe my eyes that this was the first time that Lily beat her rival in Blurry Match because when it came to years of competition, whether it's baking or playing video games, Mona always deemed herself superior as she usually beats her more than she's beaten. But this time, she was outmatched big time...mainly due to her lack of staff worth 40 points.

"Everyone," announced Gracie, "I would like to thank all of the contestants for participating in this game. This has been a fun day with all you engaged in dressing up as admiration to who the villagers are and what they do for a living." She then called the raccoon who worked for Nooks Homes. "Now, Tom Nook, show the winner what she has won."

Tom, wearing a white tuxedo, took off the sheet covering the prize on the stand, which was revealed to be a guitar-playing robot dog, a high-quality house model, and most importantly, the trophy. "Here they are. Be careful with these jewels, hm? They're potentially fragile."

"With you in 1st place," the giraffe told the babysitter," you will receive a free Mini K.K. Slider toy, a model of a fully expanded house from our village, and the trophy that's shaped like _moi_. Not only that, you get to keep the costumes that you put on for all five rounds, if desired."

"Thank you very much! But what about the rest of the contestants?"

"Oh, that. Let's just say that they ought to be happy with the free clothes they received in order to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Able Sisters' tailor shop. You knew anything about it, did you?"

Everyone started to discuss about the bicentennial of Sable and Mabel's store, which was realized only by few.

"Seriously?" asked Sonic, wearing a bunny shirt and bringing the hedgehogs to see the prize ceremony. "Shame on you, for forgetting their anniversary. Meanwhile, I was being nice to these hedgehog sisters by getting them chili dogs and then taking them to Toad Harbor to watch you attempt to match the secret models' clothes. What about you?"

Mario suddenly arrived, carrying one of the bouquets. "Well, a lot of us brought some of these exclusive passion flowers from a flower shop, ordered by a _certain frog king. _How about we give them to those Able Sisters? Happy Anniversary!"

"Why, you shouldn't have, really!" complemented Mabel, obtaining the plants. "But thank you. Better late than never, I think!"

"No wonder why we didn't see you around, _Jumpy_!" Kenny added. "You were busy ordering those passion flowers as gifts for those girls who work at their tailor shop."

Later, I began to hear the voices of my frog companions I've heard yesterday, with whispers of me reverting into the hated geek I used to be. This time however, I wasn't alone; Sonic heard them as well. If anything, I remembered back in Subcon when the more I got involved in fan conventions, the more I was bullied by my own species. First of all, I had to undergo a swirly in which my head was dunked in a toilet to drown, during my bathroom breaks; secondly, all of the frogs spit gumballs at me when they wanted me to stay away from them; furthermore, they vandalized my house, in which they wrote down unbearable names like "reality hater" and "junk lover". Worst of all, they often stole my comic books and action figures so they can burn them; just to think being slammed by the king was bad enough already…

On my diary:

_Day 5 was the first time when Lily actually beat her rival Mona. Not only that, Little Mac and Kenny were considered free ever since Roy was spending time playing cards with a teenage girl _(Which will be focused on later on), _so they were more than happy to give out suggestions on what the babysitter should wear for each round of Blurry Match. Later, when the blue blur and I heard some voices gossiping about me, I now wonder why I was meant to be around in the first place, when I'm worried that everyone is going to make fun of me again for someone who shouldn't have been._


	9. Chapter 9 – Hard on the Cards

While we were playing Blurry Match, Roy Koopa and Virginia continued to trade cards at another table, only this time, they brought all of their cards collected throughout the week. After the long swap, they prepared for a real card game.

"Get ready to feel my thunder, flowers!" said Roy.

"I wish you good luck, because I've been playing this game for a really long time. What about you?"

"Keep in mind that I've got quite a few tricks in my sleeve, love."

"Alright then, let's get started."

First were the Wonderful One cards from yesterday. The game began with Roy displaying the Wonder Yeti in front of the girl.

"Is that a Wonder Yeti I'm looking at?" she asked calmly. "Very well. For that reason, I wager my Wonder Torch, which scares off the abominable snowman."

"Oooh…" said the crowd.

"Mind your own business, you idiots!" yelled the Koopaling, feeling really annoyed. "Or it's a crash land to Wonderland! Do you understand?"

Everyone backed away inaudibly like a mouse.

"Anyway, I bring out my Wonder Flower, which…oops, gets burned by the torch. There's no going back, is there, Virginia?"

"Nope. Pick whatever you have left, Roy."

At the end, Roy was beaten by the purple-haired girl when he ran out of cards, so the two brought out their Pokemon cards to start a new game. But before so…

"You mind if you wait a bit, Roy?" asked Virginia politely. "I have to go use the restroom for a bit."

"Go ahead, sweetie, I'll be here before you can say, 'I challenge you to a Pokemon battle'!" During the girl's restroom break, that sneaky traitor started to realize that he could take advantage by forcing the fans to give him more cards so he could raise his chances of winning. He did this by threatening them: "Hey, dorks, give me all of your cards or I'll pound you into poundcake! I've got a game to win, and I ain't going to be beaten by a girl anymore!"

The fans gave Roy the cards and ran off screaming like little girls.

"That's what I'm talking about. Tell her about this, and you're toast!"

In the intervening time, when Virginia came back from her restroom break, she and Roy, who now had more cards, began their next game, with a bet:

"How about this?" suggested Roy with a suspicious grin. "If you win, Virginia, you get all of my cards excluding the duplicates, but if I win, it'll be the other way around! I promise you, it'll be your chance to complete your collection. So we have a deal?"

"Deal." She flipped the coin to determine who goes first. "It looks like, go first, will I." She then brought out her first card. "I wager my Greninja, my favorite water type Pokemon."

"I'm bringing out my Virizion, a legendary Grass type Pokemon with 170 hit points! It beats your water type with my two Grass Energy cards to perform an Emerald Slash! After all, plants drink water, especially this one."

"Dang, that's 100 points off from my Greninja, with 140 hit points. Very well then, time to take action, it is." She placed her Energy cards of two Waters and a Colorless and declared, "It'll use Sharpshooting, which is supposed to do damage of 120, but your Virizion only loses 100 HP as a Grass type.

"Well, I wager my Trainer card, which means that I get to draw 7 cards to my set!" When he obtained them, he laughed of confidence. "Well, how do you know? I got two more Grass cards! And now, my Virizion will do an Emerald Slash again, defeating that frog-ninja thing of yours!"

"A pretty lucky guy you are, since you've beaten my only Pokemon for this round. And as appealing as sucking a lemon your gamy speech makes you. Find out if you remain lucky on the next round, I will."

Of course Roy was going to have a streak of winning since he had an unfair advantage of the abundance of special cards from his bag. Indeed, he was always using the stolen EX cards, as well as cards based on Mega Evolutions, making it very difficult for his friend to win. As for the Zelda card game, he would use only the cards with the highest strength ratings, like the overpowered Demise that "knocked over" the girl's Majora card. At the end, Virginia felt sore with his consecutive and inevitable victories, but she nonetheless gave all of her cards to him, since a deal was a deal.

After that, Roy left her far away and began to celebrate his success of winning the bet. "Oh, yeah! I did it, man! I DID IT! I now have the biggest and most complete collection of cards in all of town! Girls are so vulnerable these days. They just don't realize that all Koopas love to be mean and unfair, and cheat so that they can win everything they desire. Dad would've been proud if he saw me beat that lady, who was dumb enough to be a friend and do nice things to me only to be pounded by my awesomeness! Now I gotta go see the fashion show and laugh of those twerps wearing those silly costumes. It could start anytime." But it turned out that he only got to see the last round of the game since he spent so much time playing with Virginia.


	10. Chapter 10 - The Special Treatment

It was Day 6: Fast Friday, which focused of that speedy hedgehog Sonic and his friends; it was the time when I finally reverted into the geek I once was and lost it when the frogs showed up to make fun of me. But before that, Mouser, Fryguy, Tryclyde, Robirdo, and I were to head to Brooklyn, the new location for the fan convention and Mario's original home place. Since it was in the Real World, we had to transport ourselves via magic Warp Pipe once more, which will be the last time since the last day was going to take place in Toad Town. In case you were wondering, most of us were dressed up as Eggman's robots except for Robirdo, who was already a robot, and me, who feared that I would be picked on again.

When we came, we assembled with Lily in her mildly revealing Sonic jacket costume from Day 1, Little Mac as Knuckles, Kenny as Dr. Eggman, Ginny as Blaze the Cat, Suzibeth as Cream the Rabbit, and Louie as Tails the Fox. Apparently, they wondered why I wasn't wearing a costume this time.

"Yo, what's eating you, Warty?" asked Mac, noticing my unhappy face. "We're starting to wonder why you ain't wearing no costume."

"It's nothing, really," I responded. "Don't worry about it. I'll cheer up later in the afternoon."

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" asked Ginny. "You seem to be really nervous, since you're sweating."

"Yeah, and soon, you'll be even slimier and get warts on your warts," sniggered Kenny.

"I said I'm fine!" I shouted angrily, as I was stomping my foot.

Later, Mario, wearing a Sonic costume, Pauline, as Rouge the Bat, and Donkey Kong, in a jacket based on Big the Cat, showed up to see me for some reason; at first, I didn't know why.

"Hello there, Wart," greeted Mario. "As the host of Contendo Week, we would like give you our thanks for coming to our con. At first, you weren't very enthusiastic about taking a visit, but thanks to the encouragement of the fans, you haven't missed a single day to participate or at least help out in our attractions, play with the children, order us flowers, and even attempt to catch a thief, thus we've-a got to reward you for a change by giving you the special treatment before we'll contribute to Sonic.

"What special treatment?"

"You'll find out sooner or later."

It started off with a parade of admirers bringing a sedan chair for me to sit on; it was swamped themed, with the color of green, woody plants, fake slime, toadstools, and water lilies, much to my pleasure. Since they were trying to be nice, I had no choice but to get in so they could carry me to somewhere, but where exactly? It was later revealed to be a dessert-eating challenge in which I had to gobble up as much as possible within five minutes; this reminded me when I was little, I was so fond of cakes, pies, and such that I would often steal them from bakeries with the occasion of making a mess to expose my responsibility for my holdup.

Meanwhile, like Wednesday and Thursday, Roy left Mac and Kenny for the rest of the day since he no longer asked for anymore merchandise now that he won all of Virginia's cards. So this time, he went to find the blue blur Sonic for an autograph. But before he could, he saw the purple-haired girl coming to him quietly, along with some fans angry and somewhat scared at the same time. "What the heck is going on here? Did I do something wrong?"

Virginia angrily stared at the Koopaling, _which would later on be remembered for a long time_. "After you left when our game was over, a lot of my friends and the rest of the fans told me that you stole their cards, so you can use their EX-cards to beat me and win MY cards, and that you threatened to attack them if I knew about this. At first, they were afraid to tell me, but I let them know that I'm capable of dealing with bullies the hard way."

"She'll stop you and bring us our cards back, you big bully!" declared one fan dressed up as Shadow the Hedgehog.

Roy then slapped the girl and shoved her, leaving her shocked. "Strong you ain't, 'cause you're a gullible little girl who thinks that stopping me is a possibility! It was unwise for you to do nice things to me, only be cheated by me! That's how the way of the Koopa family works."

"What about the time when I bought you ice cream at Mona Pizza or taught you the strategies for the card games? And parenthetically, you once promised to give me an action figure on the telephone while the boxer and alligator looked after you at home.

"What you did means nothing, and in reality, I was going to keep the Impa action figure to myself. And I should've mentioned that on Wonder Wednesday, Nabbit was going to steal your cards and secretly give them to me!"

When the girl saw that thieving lagomorph, redeemed as a delivery guy, but ashamed for working with Roy, she asked, "Is that true, Nabbit, that you were going to steal my cards?"

The purple bunny sullenly nodded.

"Well, ask yourself this: what would Roy actually do for you in return?"

Enraged after being snitched on, Roy brought out a can of spinach, opened it with a claw, and sloppily devoured the whole green vegetable, resulting in his muscles pumping like if he was a _sailor with a bad eye. _Then, he marched closer the fans with his left fist on his right hand. "Dad would want a pointless act of violence in my name. So it's time to make my word and crush every bone in your dorky bodies! And with the power of spinach, it'll be just like smashing a pile of cookies."

The fans stood back slowly, shaking like jackhammers, sweating like ice cubes in a dessert, and breathing heavily like if the atmosphere thickened. So in response, Virginia brought out a can of kale and showed it to Roy. "You see this? This certain kind of veggie is called _kale_, or known as "the queen of greens" since it's a superfood with an ANDI score of 1000, whereas your spinach is a 739. Plus, it's higher in protein." So she opened her can, by drawing the pull-out end, and ate the kale with her mouth closed.

Next, Roy brought out a watermelon. "Okay then, let's just say that this melon is everyone I picked on." He vigorously crushed it with his bare hands in front of everybody, scaring them.

In response, the girl showed him a rock large as a football. "And let's just say that this oversized pebble is you."

In less than three seconds, she astonishingly crushed the rock with ease, disintegrating it into hundreds of pieces. As a result, especially when girl gave her frightening stare again, Roy had never felt this terrified before. His heart started pounding like a bass drum; afterwards, he screamed like a girl. "ALRIGHT! I'LL BRING BACK ALL OF THE CARDS! JUST DON'T HURT ME, PLEASE!" So he returned his cards from his bag, and ran away as fast as he could, never to bully the fans again. Finally, everyone cheered for Virginia for standing up for herself and all around her.

Back to the main story, during the eating contest, I proved myself capable of eating five pies, twelve cupcakes, three sundaes, and a whole wedding cake, in five minutes. I felt a little dizzy, but it was worth it as I missed eating sweets after five years of resistance. After the challenge, the fans put me in clothes, like a drinking cap, a sweater, and Sonic's power shoes- all with pictures of Sonic on them...except for the shoes. Next, one of them decided to paint a silhouette of the hedgehog's head on my face- accidently with permanent paint. Soon, there came the paparazzi to take pictures of me with some of the speed demon's friends like the super-strong Knuckles, Amy, her girlfriend, and his trusty yellow two-tailed fox Tails, who had suspected that the treatment was getting a bit out of hand, with the overabundance of treats. Overall, I finally realized that everyone wanted to me to be truly happy and were persistent in giving me the consideration I wanted since I was a little kid. Then, Sonic came but couldn't decide if he should warn me about the frog tribe from my childhood or not.

_"__Oh, boy,"_ he thought_, "To tell him or not to tell him? That's the question. A while ago, I've heard some voices that I've heard yesterday, after Blurry Match ended. They've been gossiping about him reverting into someone who used to be years ago. If I don't tell him, then those uninvited guests may pick on him for a time and expose him as a fool…for good. But if I do, he'll be quick to hide his true nature before his exposure; then again, he'll start hating all of the fans again for "deceiving" him and never be happy again. I know that nostalgia and cult meant so much for him. What should I say?" _Then, Sonic came up with an idea and told the fans, "Say, why don't you give Wart the special treatment indoors? We'd be safer if so. Really, I mean it." Unfortunately, they didn't hear him, so they resumed smothering me outside.

After the "love", Mario announced the new game to the rest of the fans:

"Ladies and gentlemen, today's attraction will be "Speedy Search", a scavenger hunt in which the contestants will receive a list with Sonic's items that will have to be found for a picture this area as fast as possible before time runs out. A map will be provided since the items will be scattered all over the place; furthermore, the game will be all about speed, hence the name of Fast Friday. "

"And whatever you do," added the hedgehog, "always beware of strangers, because trust me, they could laugh of you and take pictures to embarrass you."

"Furthermore, whoever wins will receive the prize of an authentic, high quality teak Mini-Frog (From Chrono Trigger) toy, handcrafted by Tails the Fox, with a little help from Donkey Kong, my toy-loving companion._ We're hoping that Wart has good luck, as it's made particularly for him, as a deep attempt to change his perspective about the con._"

Tails and DK showed up and brought a strange looking box, with the pattern of green and yellow checkers. The ape opened the box to reveal the wooden toy. Of course! It was that toy frog briefly mentioned from the grand opening theme song on the first day of Contendo Week. It was also what I was desperate for when I was a little frogling; back in Subcon, after reading the first two Chrono books, I watched a commercial on TV that focused of the wind-up toy/action figure hybrid based on that frog warrior; while I was quick to head to the toy store, it was sadly sold out; the same applied to the rest of the shops. However, I wasn't giving up, so I rushed to order the toy online on the computer; ultimately, it was sold out virtually as well as in shop.

Back to present, Roy came back to Little Mac and Kenny, making it like if their freedom abruptly ended. "Hi, morons, I'm back! I hope you enjoyed your freedom while it lasted, because I have one more command to give you two."

"Not one more order!" cried Little Mac. "When we were free, we had the opportunity to finally enjoy the last two days of this special week while you were playing with that girl with the purple hair! Just to let you know, you ruined the first three by forcing us to drain out wallets from buying loads of toys and cards only for you! Moreover, for every morning and night, you order us to give you a bath, breakfast, manicures, and massages, tuckering me and Kenny out! This ain't how babysitting works, especially when you've been so mean to us! The thing is, as sitters, we're supposed to have you behave and make the rules when you are sent to us, in OUR HOUSE!"

Roy softly scratched his head. "Oh, so that's how your job is supposed to work. Well, I just want to let you know that I miserably broke up with Virginia, which is why I need you to just one small favor to get my mind off of that terrible event.

"Wait, why did you 'break up' with her?" asked Kenny. "Were you having a date with her?"

"Um, sure, until she tried to scare me by staring at me and showing me how strong she was by crushing a boulder in front of me!"

The gator's pupils shrunk. "Well, I'm sure she did that for a reason…"

"Now if you can just sign me up for the scavenger hunt, I could let go of the traumatic past and move on."

"Is that all you want from us?" asked Mac. "Well, okay, if that'll make you feel better."

"That's all I ask from you two." So Roy Koopa was signed up on for the hunt.


	11. Chapter 11 - Hog Roasted

Around 1:00, the fast-paced scavenger hunt was about to begin, in which I eagerly signed up first, rented one of the cameras, and joined the assembly at the Brooklyn Bridge Park with some opponents including the babysitter who was always following me, King K. Rool, who wanted to win the toy to give to Kenny, King Dedede, who I met during the quiz and playtime with the kids, Ness, who I teamed up with at Monday's arena, Nabbit, with a tracking device attached to his leg to keep him from stealing anymore valuables, Mona, who competed with Lily at Blurry Match yesterday, and Roy Koopa, who was "scarred" by Virginia's intimidating strength. There was no way for anyone to win but me, as I was so determined to get that frog toy, that meant so much from me as I never got to own it back in Subcon.

"I hope you'll enjoy the hunt, _Warty_," said Ginny. "Because I know it'll be a blast."

Sonic showed up, feeling a bit uneasy. "And if you win, you'll get that Mini-Frog, which you always wanted, according to some voices I've heard in a pond." Afterwards, he left, thinking, "_And I've heard gossips about a turnip throw, to get that frog into an allergic reaction to humiliate him. So it looks like I've got to do something about it._"

In due course, the hunt started with me taking some pictures of a gold ring next to a bench; that was one down, as there were 29 more items to go. It may seem easy, but I was sweating like crazy, considering the time pressure and wild competition I had to deal with. Later, when I had four more down, which were a Chaos Emerald, Sonic's shoes, a Chao doll, and a plastic replica of Amy's Piko Piko Hammer, I would see that fat penguin Dedede quickly floating like a balloon and with his feet, holding a Waddle Dee taking the pictures for him; maybe this was to take photos of several items in a bird's eye view, am I right?

"Hey, Dedede, you stuffed turkey!" I hollered. "You're supposed to capture the items independently, or you'd be disqualified! Sheesh…"

"You realize that it doesn't say in the rulebook!" laughed Dedede. While he was steadily floating, I was sprinting and "snapping" at every item in sight, as quickly as possible.

Next, I saw King K. Rool riding a red wagon while taking multiple photos, which all were said to be blurry despite his camera's "sports mode" and due to the bumpy ride and his recklessness. All of a sudden, Kenny's dad screamed when he was about to crash into a stiff Star Post imitation. Then, he went flying in the sky, and rolled into the pond. "There goes the last piece of Kenny's Chrono Trigger toy collection," He sighed, spitting out water and holding up his water-damaged camera. "And so much for redeeming my son's babysitting of that Koopaling. As for you, Wart, I hope you keep taking those pictures!"

Later, after taking a picture of Shadow's hover shoes, in which I had 19 more to go, there was Mona moving on roller skates and shooting the images effectively with her bulky DSLR camera. "Hello there, _hoppy_! Are you snapping some snaps?"

"Quite a bit!" I croaked.

"I just want to mention to you that I happen to work for the Diamond City Times as a photojournalist noticeable for being the consistent in exposing hidden criminals, which is why I was the host of a game called "Shutter"."

"I promise you, I'll have all of the "pics" I need the earlier than everyone else, because I need that frog SO BADLY!"

"You're pretty determined to win that prize, aren't you? You better give it your best shot, because I'll be giving it mine."

That was when I realized that pizza girl was my first real competitor; she apparently had more experience with photography than me! So I tried to hurry up with extra hopping power, as I tried to complete my list as soon as possible. Then, I met Lily at the playground, taking a picture of a Dr. Eggman puppet near the slide. When she saw me sweating, she advised me to take it easy, since "winning wasn't everything", but I rejected the advice and told her restlessly about my obsession of the Chrono Trigger toy, citing that it's presence thoroughly brought back the geek I once was and "dragged me back to my childhood" when I was part of the fanbase of comics, novels and so on."

Meanwhile, around this area, Sonic was busy speed-hunting for those frog gossipers who were planning to give me an allergic reaction to sabotage my chances of winning the game. "If I was a frog, where would I like to hang out?" He assumed that they were under one of the ponds, but before going in, he began to hesitate since he couldn't swim underwater due to his dense body. Conversely, there were no signs of bubbles coming from a frog underwater nor there seemed to be anyone there. After 15 minutes of sprinting to every tree and architecture, much to his shock, he finally saw the frogs on the horses in Jane's inactive carousel; they were revealed to be the Fabulous Five Froggish Tenors, who were singers mentioned in the Zelda Book #5: Ocarina of Time, and also harassed me when I was little, before they moved to Zora's River. "There you five are!" he shouted angrily. "Planning to hurt someone with a vegetable?"

"Uh oh," gasped the pink frog, "It looks like some blue hedgehog found us. Run!"

"Forget the flight!" protested Fred, the orange frog. "He's fast enough to catch us all! I say we play our Song of Teleportation to bring us to a place where he'll never find us again!"

"How are you going to play it?" the blue blur replied. "You got some kind of magical instrument like the Ocarina of Time or something like that?"

The green frog, named Regol, groaned. "Don't tell us you forgot our instruments."

Fred started sweating. "Oh, um…that's a big problem." Surprisingly, he changed his mind since he got a new brilliant idea. "Boys, let's find out if that spiny rat's allergic to something. Ed, you got something that people can be sensitive to?"

Leoni, the purple frog, firmly threw a pineapple at Sonic, causing a ton of rings to scatter away from his body; then, the hedgehog swelled up from head to toe and began floating, like a balloon. Everyone else started laughing at him crazily until their spleens strained.

"How was I supposed to know that I am allergic to pineapples?" the hedgehog muttered in a chipmunk-like voice.

Meanwhile, when I had 11 items to go, tension of the competition was rising, as I've seen that almost all of my contenders including Ness, Nabbit, and especially Roy, were quickly capturing their photos faster than Kirby inhaling a giant serving of noodles in 10 seconds. So I hurried up with maximum force and managed to take the rest of my pictures using sports mode, which I've learned from King K. Rool, before his camera was damaged by the pond.

The last of my photos included a Knuckles model, a spring with a star in the center, a white Wisp (from Sonic Colors), and a Sonic statue. After I completed my list, before I let anyone make it, I sprinted my way to Mario, Pauline, and DK, hoping to win the contest, but there was one practical tragedy; when I was almost getting there, I suddenly got hit by a turnip causing me to swell and drop the camera, which cracked on the concrete of my path. Not only that, I started sneezing green bubbles, gained purple itchy dots all over my body, and turned red as a pepper, as symptoms of my turnip sensitivity. After that, I got hit by more turnips, worsening my conditions. Then, those frogs showed up from the bushes and made fun of my treatment clothes and recent behavior.

"Nice shoes, geek!" guffawed Regol. "Bet they don't change how slow you've always been! And why is there a tattoo on your face? You look extra ridiculous with that!"

I tried to rub of the blue silhouette of Sonic's head, but it wouldn't come off, thanks to the permanent paint.

"Who would want to be friends with someone who cares about plastic junk and stuff more than his personal hygiene?" laughed Leoni.

Fred continued, "You know, Wart, I never thought I'd see the day in which years later, you turn back into the nerdy child who failed to follow your duties just to read fictional nonsense and do all of those immature activities like what all _okatus _do."

"Remember the time when in a play, you used to be King Dedede, stealing all of the food in Dream Land?" added the second purple one. "As a result, Leader Ōsama ordered you to ditch the stages for good, for how "silly" you've been."

"There was also the time when you stole the money from Poki and Piki to buy all of those action figures with the result of Imajin and Lina throwing vegetables at you," Fred continued further. "The thing is, when will you grow up and realize how merchandise companies trick you into wasting your money for impractical junk that you eventually get sick of when novelties wear out? And let that allergic reaction be an aide-mémoire that you should stop doing stuff all of those geeks been doing throughout the week!"

When the frogs continued to throw turnips at me, without my camera, I ran away back to the meeting area, to find out that Roy Koopa has shockingly won Speedy Search, and that frog I wanted. "N-O-O-O-O-O!" I screamed weakly.

"Beat that, losers!" laughed Roy. "I won this frog warrior thingy, and there's nothing you can do can about it!" He then noticed my purple spots and reddened body. "Wow, look at you, _green lips_! You look sicker than a dog, if it was bad enough already that you're not getting this toy. Whatever you do, don't touch me or I'll get sick like you!"

As for everyone else, including Mario's kids, Little Mac, Kenny and his dad, covered in mud, my Subcon crew, Mona, Ness, Nabbit, Dedede, and especially Lily, they were upset to see me infected by means of my turnip allergy. Robirdo quickly gave me a shot to cure my body, even though I could've used my magic to recover myself. After that, I became really gloomy and started bursting into tears, knowing that I didn't win the action figure. Meanwhile, after Tails Prowler gave him an allergy shot like me, Sonic was sullenly watching me cry a river of tears for hours, literally speaking, and later saw those Froggish Tenors with menacing looks while behind the trees.

Later, while I was still crying, I looked back at the time when I actually had the Chrono Trigger figure in my hands, after winning a bet with a pigeon-like Pidgit; the bet was in deciding which favored contestant would win at a public carpet-riding race. This kind of treat however, didn't stay with me very long; when all of my frog companions saw me with the toy, at one night, one of them sneaked into my house and stole it to show to Ōsama, to get me into REALLY deep trouble, after focusing more on my hobbies than my responsibilities.

Sometime after the end of the hunt, Stanley was making another report to review all of what happened for the day before the finale. Eventually, he came to me, asking for my opinion about Contendo Week, which will be the turning point of this story.

"I'm very sorry that you didn't get that toy frog when you lost Speedy Search, considering that you explicitly expressed how upset you were," he said. "But since you made everyone proud by coming to visit us, and that you did receive the treatment given by your beloved fans, what would you say about this special week overall?"

"I say…" I wept. This was when it hit me; I instantly remembered my encounter with the king in the throne room when I confessed to him that I was busy making a bet with the Pigit in order to win the toy. He didn't throw me to the dungeon or even assigned me extra duty in chains, but instead, he calmly showed me some newspapers focusing on the problems regarding fandom. First, what I've learned was that out of hype, huge numbers of fanatics have been "attacking" famous singers and novelists, who had very little time to spend alone without being noticed. Not only that, there were reports of people buying tons of merchandise every day, which resulted in less dedication in performance at school and less money for food. Furthermore, it was revealed that there have been tons of action-based memes that have affronted the stars, as well as certain cultures, stories, and history.

_"__Take a good look at all of these, my good frog," _he said. _"You know, if you were world famous, how would you feel if all of your bothersome fans wouldn't stop taking about you, sending you meaningless fan mail, taking pictures of you, making you look like a fool through costumes or poorly-written plays, and worst of all, losing their fortune just for silly merchandise, based on you, that they don't need? You would get sick of this treatment, wouldn't you? Luckily, enthusiasm for a certain person, fiction, history, or culture wears out, as while it lasts, fandom only gets in the way of all of those who need to fulfill their proper tasks. What I'm trying to say is, you should've focused more on taking my orders, instead of being a kid and focusing too much on devotion!" _

Back to the present: "I say…" I said again angrily. Then I shouted in front of Stan's camcorder, "…YOU GUYS ARE ALL A BUNCH OF GEEKS!"

Consequently, everyone in the entire city, and those watching the con on TV heard exactly what I just shouted out. They all looked at me, heartbroken and shocked, without of any movement of muscle.

"Just look at all of you BABIES playing all of that plastic junk, wearing those ridiculous costumes, and reading all of that fictional nonsense! I've never thought I'd see the day that I've been bamboozled by games and stuff to end up as someone unlikable like all of you! Say, instead of invading cites to contaminate all of the residents with your fandom, shouldn't you be doing homework or study for a test, since you have summer school or somewhere like that?"

"Technically, not a lot of people sign up for summer school," responded one fan.  
>"The thing is," I continued, "all of this so-called dedication is turning you into a bunch of obsessives who wouldn't focus anymore on anything more important, like doing chores or volunteering for charity and such! As for those comic books, they're isolating you from reality, causing you believe in all of those dumb fantasies that just don't happen! It's time to wake up and accept reality, because many of those superheroes in those books are not real!"<p>

"What about the Wonderful 101?" objected another fan.

"I'm not finished! As for those pricy action figures and cards, at first, you start playing with them at the beginning, but later, you eventually neglect them, due to the fact that you all want more and more! Let me tell you this: all of those merchandise companies are tricking you into draining your cash for useless garbage that you eventually get sick of, instead of buying food and paying for your mortgages! In addition, I've heard that you've been pestering those real life heroes, as well as stars, singers, etc. with your petty fan mail, eye-swelling paparazzi, and the demand for autographs until their hands get numb from writing a thousand signatures; no wonder why they all get so sick of you! In conclusion, every single one of you were supposed to start growing up and accepting life boring and dull as it was meant to be! But instead, you just had to do all of those dumb activities, only to end up BULLIED like me, when I used to be a nerd! For once, get an appropriate life, you PATHETIC, IMMATURE, ANNOYING, LOW-LIVED, MONEY-WASTING, LOUD-MOUTHED GEEKS!"

Since my speech, everyone became quiet and looked down, depressed rather than angry; even Mario was speechless when it came to hosting the convention. They should've been mad at me for insulting them, but when they began to look at themselves and the goods they've been buying or using, they felt kind of ashamed for what they've been doing and started to feel like if they haven't been mature enough in general. For that reason, with the support of my crew, I ordered everyone to hand over all of the toys and books so I can put them in a place where they're not to be seen again.

"Hand over your action figures and junk, if you don't want anyone to make fun of you!" I shouted.

"You heard the frog," added Mouser. "Throw 'em in the pile, if you want your reputation to be spared."

After 2,000 merchandises have been discarded to the mound, Lily slowly came to me with a sad look. "What happened? After all we've been through, you're actually condemning this convention ever since you lost the hunt."

"Look, this isn't about the toy, it's about people getting humiliated due to their fandom getting the better of them! I'm telling you, I have no choice but to put an end to this life-ruining event!"

"Well, don't you believe there's some form of importance of fandom at all?"

"No." Then, I instigated to notice that Pikachu plushie the babysitter was hugging. "Now how about to put that doll into the pile, just everyone else, like how Little Mac and Kenny gave up their limited edition Jergingha figures to avoid ruining their reputation?"

In response, she shook her head, which meant "no", so therefore I decided to take it by force; in silence, we fought over the doll for a brief amount of time until I won and tossed it in the pile. Consequently, Lily felt thick tears on her eyes, and began weeping.

*sniffles and wipes tears* "…And to think I signed up so I could give you that prize if I won the game…"

When DK saw the girl "leaking", he gave her a hug, wiped her tears, and gave me a look of disappointment after what I've done. When all, but me and my crew, left, I decided to write my journal right away, unlike before, in which I usually waited until each night. Here's what I wrote:

_Day 6: Today has been the most devastating day I've ever been through since the time when the King of Subcon lectured me. When I received the special treatment from those fans, it only got me ridiculed by those Froggish Tenors, who threw turnips at me to sabotage my chances of winning the hunt. After that, when I started to revisit the time when the king told me everything about the problems with fandom, that was when I slammed the geek week and even took away Lily's Pikachu plushie, which made her heartbroken for some reason. Keep in mind that I never meant to make her cry, as I only did this to keep her from ending up with the same fate like me. _


	12. Chapter 12 - The End of Babysitting

After the sudden and tragic end of the event, Lily quietly sent Ginny, Suzibeth, and Louie home, to Peach's castle, where the girls reunited with their mother Peach, who finished community service; as for the boy, he came back to Daisy, his own mother.

"I took really good care of the three, like what you expected, Princess Peach and Daisy," sniffed the teary-eyed babysitter.

"I really like your Sonic-themed jacket," complemented Daisy. "You look pretty charming in it."

"Thanks." Then, she brought out a tissue from the pocket on her coat and slowly wiped her tears.

"Is something wrong?" asked Peach with concern."

"N-no. Right now, I need some time off." After that, she silently left the castle and started wailing softly as a kitten. Meanwhile, Ginny explained to her mother that Lily has been feeling down in the dumps ever since I took away her Pikachu doll, as well as all of the fans' belongings. Suzibeth also added that during my speech, I implied that I was attacked by those childhood bullies, in which they were cruel enough to throw me turnips to get me infected. Taking consideration of that situation I recently made, Peach decided to go out and see the babysitter, sitting on a bench and bawling like a baby.

Peach gave her a cuddle, wherein Lily placed her own head in the princess's chest, slightly wetting it through her tears. "Shh… Hey, it's alright, Lily. Don't cry." She then continued, "I know that a frog took away your Pikachu plush doll."

The teenaged girl sobbed, "When he took it from me, I began to remember that when I was a little girl, I lost the same stuffed animal, my parents gave me as a Christmas present, after I became an orphan; during a ride on a passenger ship, some flying pirate ships attacked us when we were halfway to Mushroom City."

"That's terrible. Now I wonder if the flying pirate ships remind me of someone I know…" replied the princess.

"We never did anything wrong to those strangers on the airships, but they claimed that we were the "next ones" to terrorize the surviving Koopas and ruin their lives, so they shot cannon balls at our ship, and by the time it was destroyed, that was when I was isolated from my mom and dad, and lost that stuffed Pikachu they gave me. As I received the new one, I felt like it was the only thing remaining from my parents. Eventually, that was taken away by a confused friend who I just wanted to help, and that is practically killing me, now that I…have…nothing…left. Now I feel so sad and heartbroken."

Peach wiped Lily's tears and hugged her again. "I know it's important to hold tight to what's left your parents, but you know you have to stay strong in order to get through your loss and make a brighter future for yourself. Remember, their love will always be there for you, as you love them so dearly. …And you know what? Maybe you'll get back the stuffed Pikachu that Wart took from you…somehow. I'll call Mario to help you."

So it all made sense; now that I knew why the ship was destroyed, it had to be Bowser who was responsible for the oceanic raid, because who else would be the only one guy who was in charge of the airships? If you knew anything about his backstory, he swore revenge on every human in the universe, especially Mario, for treating him like a monster and "enslaving" all of the Koopas.

Now, back to the main story; Little Mac and Kenny were finally done with babysitting Roy Koopa, who decided to halt their trial, for some reason.

"I had a wonderful time having you two take my orders and buying me goodies at the geek fest," said Roy. "And yet, that speech of yours about me bossing you around really turned me around; since I don't want to cause you anymore trouble, it's time to stop here and say good-bye. Besides, I don't like how this house smells."

"Wait, all of a sudden, you want to go back home, in the Mushroom World?" asked Kenny. "Wouldn't your dad be suspicious and accuse us for not being responsible?"

"Nah, I'm just going to tell my dad that's it's best to stay away from you Earth imbeciles as you WILL stay away from us. But for sure, you are going to miss being my butlers."

"Not in our dreams," replied Little Mac. "In fact, we are so relieved that you're leaving my house at once."

"Alrighty then. Let me get my sack of toys that NO ONE is gonna touch if there is not to be a world of pain." He carried his overstuffed bag and marched his way out. "Later, losers!" He last saw the gator and boxer happily waving; mysteriously, he was heard screaming and running like a horse.

"Dude, can you believe it?" squealed Kenny. "We're FREE AT LAST!"

"I know, right?" cheered Mac. "We know we didn't prove that we weren't the ones who threw toilet paper at a Koopa's castle, but let's put that aside and celebrate!"

On the stereo, the boxer played "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang, and the two began dancing; but the festivity was put to a halt, when someone was clearly grieving outside, putting her hand on her face. Mac opened the door and saw the purple-haired Virginia, his neighbor, sitting on the wall of his house. "Yo, what's wrong, girlie? You down in the dumps?"

"First, Roy betrayed me, and now, he's afraid of me," sighed Virginia. "After he left your house, by the time he saw me, he started screaming at me and running away. You see, Roy and I played with each other nicely at first, but since he bullied everyone and tried to rob my cards, I kind of gave him a terrifying look and showed him how strong I was by crushing a rock, in order to teach him a lesson about cheating on me and hounding everyone in the con."

"I didn't know that you were stronger than him. In my opinion, I think that's how you show someone who's boss."

"Still, I don't know if I should have scared Roy earlier in the first place, since he now thinks that I'm going "silent killer" on him. Plus, I actually fell in love since I first saw his lovely sunglasses and tight muscles. I didn't express this kind of inner feeling, but I was being nice to him by getting him gelato at Mona Pizza and giving him strategies on the card games."

"But he didn't care about all of the nice things you did, did he?"

"Well, he may be kind of a jerk, especially when he smacked me, but since I still have feelings for him, I'm thinking of redeeming myself and getting Roy to change himself so we could be happy together again, you know?"

"I'm not sure about that. But I guess I'll find out what happens next."


	13. Chapter 13 – The Maltese Mamu

At home, when it was bedtime, I couldn't sleep one bit, ever since that Roy Koopa won that Frog figure at the hunt. In addition, I started to think about how I hurt the babysitter's feelings by taking away her plushie and insulted all of the fans, including those who actually supported me, when deep inside, I never wanted to close the con down in the first place.

Unexpectedly, in my latest dream, I was located at a surreal toy store-like area with Subcon fairies invaded my house through the glassless windows, without my permission.

_"__Oh, no,"_ I groaned. _"Not you pixies again." _

_"__It's been a long time since we last saw you, Wart," said one fairy. "We're still upset that years ago, you enslaved us all, but now we know you did this for a reason. The reason why you took over Subcon was because your were angry that the king kicked you out after you accused him for being a "geek" , whereas you were taught that people shouldn't do any of those fandom-based activities after you were doing your hobbies instead of following orders._

_"__So what are you going to do to me?"_

_"__Well, it isn't worth it to punish you again now that you recently stopped being evil and moved on. So instead, we'll take you back to the past when you. Come to us, and you'll see the whole point." _

So they dragged me back to the past where I saw myself sitting on a lily pad (no pun attended) on a pond, feeling guilty for all of the geeky stuff I've done throughout my first eight years. Then, the past me went home and threw away my (or is it "his") comics, buried all of my action figures, and worst of all, burned all of my books that gave me the knowledge of all of the histories of the heroes, myths, and culture which were the sources that turned into the biggest nerd in the land. But those actions weren't all; with a fireball generated from one of my hands, I burned all of the merchandise bought by the young "okatus" after I threatened them to turn into cockroaches with my magic, if they didn't hand their stuff over. I was shocked to realize that this were the results of my "hatred" of fandom ever since I had that talk with the king who was against the subculture of fans.

When distressed by that memory, I started to wake up and told myself that it was just a nightmare. However, I was now more determined than ever to get that frog toy that I wanted, after years of hiding my definite inner geek before yesterday, despite what I've done in the past; not even the words from those Froggish Tenors would stop me either.

Since we knew that Roy had the frog toy, my crew and I were discussing a plan to enter his room and snatch it without anyone knowing.

"Are you s-s-sure it's a good idea to just steal someone's property just because you want it s-s-so badly?" hissed Tryclyde.

I replied, "It's about time I told you this: after I got rid of my nerdy stuff after a chat with the king, I ended up regretting what I did, since I had nothing left that would comfort me. Besides, that spoiled Koopaling now has a flood of toys in his room, so maybe he won't mind giving up one out of a thousand. After all, you can't have everything you want, right?"

"What about the confiscated goods we now have?" asked Fryguy.

"We didn't take them away because I wanted to play with any of those," I replied. "We confiscated the junk to put in the secret storage room so that no one would find them. As for the frog however, it's the one and only thing that I can't consider as junk."

"Argh, it is true there can only be one doubloon apart from the rubbish," said Clawgrip. "And if anything, a pirate's code is to steal candy from a baby."

Mouser gave a smirk. "Stealing used to be kind of my job, and by the way, Roy has been throwing toilet paper at our house and spitting gum at us whenever he sees us. Even worse, I just realized that the little monster didn't give us his toys when everyone else in the convention _…including me…in which I had to give up the Mini-Pit and comics, did as we were told_."

"I know, right?" I responded. "We'll make that brat learn that there are consequences for messing with the wrong people. But we got to do it quietly though, since we can't risk getting caught by the guards."

So after a ride on a magic carpet, my gang and I secretly arrived to Bowser's castle, bringing some flashlights while Robirdo had the super-strong "grappling section cup" designed for a zip line. First, the robot detected where the window of Roy's bedroom was. Next, from her mouth, she aimed the section cup at above the hole-in-the-wall and moved back to tighten the rope. Then, we carefully climbed the rope with the high risk of falling into the lava pit, if we let go (Why didn't we bring enough 1-up Mushrooms in the first place?). Finally, we broke into Roy's room, which turned out to be cluttered, making it tough to look for the toy. So without making a noise, with our flashlights, we slowly moved on our toes (only me and Mouser, while the rest had no toes), avoiding what was on the ground (pizza boxes, jacks, bones, etc.), and thoroughly looked through the desk, the bed, and the drawers, but we couldn't find the toy whatsoever.

_"__It's kind of strange that Roy goes to bed late, as I don't see him here, sleeping," _whispered Fryguy.

_"__SHH!" _replied the rat with sunglasses. "_You overgrown fireball, will you please SHUT UP? Otherwise, someone's gonna hear us!"_

_"__How about you quit yer squeaking, ye squeaky varmint?" _responded the crab angrily. "_If you'll make things worse, I'll have you walk the plank!"_

_"__Who are calling 'squeaky varmint', you undercooked seafood? Alright, that's it, you asked for it!"_

While Mouser and Clawgrip were busy slapping, pinching, and biting, Tryclyde gradually opened the closet and found a giant bag, which was briefly seen with Roy during the convention; of course, it had got to have that long-wanted Frog toy inside!

The fireball took a good look at the bag as well. _"It looks to us that we hit the jackpot- Huh?"_ Interrupted, Fryguy saw Mouser and Clawgrip fighting like girls.

And by the way, I would like to let to know that Clawgrip was known for always getting involved in fights when he insults someone, or gets insulted, like how years ago, he and Birdo called each other names while fighting over the last slice of quiche at a banquet, or recently when he argued with Fryguy, when criticized for his accent.

Now, back to our story. _"Alright, you two!" _scolded the fireball quietly. _"Break it up before-"_

Much to our shock, after the fight, Mouser accidently bumped in one the drawers, in which a large flower vase fell down and shattered, making a great deal of noise. "Oops- I mean…what've you done, Clawgrip?"

"I'M AIN'T THE ONE WHO BUMPED INTO THE DRAWERS, YOU CLUMSY SCUM!" shouted the crab.

_"__WHO'S IN THERE?" _shouted a doubtlessly angered Roy downstairs_. "Because if I see anyone in my room, there is going to be a world of pain!"_

"Oh, s-s-snap, we're in deep doo-doo." gasped Tryclyde's third head. "While the three of us slither, you're going to have to run!"

In an instant, we escaped through the window, along with the giant sack of toys, held on to the rope to slide down to where we started, got back on the carpet, escaping as quickly as possible.

When Roy marched to his room, when tremored, his jaw dropped "all the way to the floor" and his sunglasses cracked, as he found out that his sack of toys was missing from his closet, thus he called his potent parent. "DAD, DAD! I'VE BEEN ROBBED!"

Bowser quickly stomped upstairs and entered Roy's bedroom. "What seems to be stolen?"

Roy pointed at his practically empty closet. "Look there! Someone, or some people, just stole my bag of toys! And I heard them destroying my favorite vase!"

"What? No greedy idiot steals toys from one of my trustworthy children!" roared his father, with his face turning red and steaming up. He then called the Koopa Troop. "GUARDS!"

The Koopa Knights arrived in a nick of time. "Yes, your majesty?"

"Roy's bag of toys has been stolen in a flash. Search for those thieves and arrest them!"

"But we need a description of those crooks," said one of the guards.

Roy assumed, "I believe that it's that cold-staring purple-haired girl, who scared the daylights out of me, and those babysitters who chose to stand up against me! In my theory, they probably wanted revenge on me for not being good enough for them!"

"Be calm," stated the head Koopatrol. "We'll be hunting those criminals as you know it."

When we got home, we opened the bag and dumped what was inside; there were various action figures, collectible cards, comic books, snow globes, key chains, and stuffed dolls. However, that Frog toy was nowhere to be found!

"Aw, nuts," groaned Mouser. "I can't believe the Frog toy must have been in somewhere secret rather than this stupid sack!"

"It looks to me that the sailor is actually hiding in a secret cave (possibly a safe) maybe even blocked by boulders (referring to a lock)," sighed Clawgrip. "And don't pan me for me pirate talk this time, you hear?"

"Where the heck did Roy possibly hide that toy?" I asked, wondering.

On the next day, Mario was apportioned by Princess Peach to find my house at the swamp to visit me, so he could make an agreement with me so I would give back Lily's Pikachu plushie; he would also have me to bring back everyone else's goods, once there was a way to stop the Froggish Tenors who attacked me, and get the fans, as well as me, to feel good about fandom again. And to outnumber the bullies, he led a group with certain members like Lily Padilla, Little Mac, Kenny Rool, King K. Rool, Virginia, Sonic the Hedgehog, who the Froggish Tenors hit with a pineapple, Nabbit, Luigi, Donkey and Diddy Kong, and for some reason, the Mini Mario toys. Before the walk, the blue blur had discussed with the babysitter about my past, regarding how the Subconians treated me like a joke for learning so much and doing my favorite hobbies.

Unfortunately, by the time the gang almost found my home, they were arrested by Bowser's armored Koopa guards by surprise.

"FREEZE!" declared the head Koopatrol, pointing his spear at the group, like the other troops.

"Mama Mia," said a wide-eyed Luigi, putting his hands up in the air. "What did-a we do wrong?"

"You nerds are under arrest for committing theft of a child's property, particularly a sack of toys!"

Meanwhile, in my second dream, the Subcon fairies came back to me so they could take me to the past again when I humiliated Ōsama by magically forming canvases of him, when playing with his action figures, and posting them on the billboard for everyone to see. It started off when after a week after giving up my toys and books, I suspected Ōsama of playing with his Fire Emblem toys in his bedroom, through eavesdropping, in which I summoned several floating pieces of paper and made my perspectives of the king frolicking materialize on the sheets, in the form of oil paint. Then, on the next day, at the middle of the village, I showed everyone the paintings; they all laughed until the king showed up and hit the roof. Next, in front of everyone, I accused him for being a hypocrite when he wanted me to stop my fandom while he continued to do the opposite, with all of his figures to play with. In view of that, I was banished from the kingdom, but later, I make my first effort to get my revenge by dethroning Ōsama and turning the Dream Machine into the Nightmare Machine, so I could take over Subcon, but Mario and his friends stopped me and my minions with their throwing skills. Years after the king got back his name two times, my crew and I were sent to the Mushroom World where after we made a home, I wandered to various urban areas for years, scaring off any geek that gets in my way.

_"__If there was one more thing we could say, frog," _said one of the fairies_, "it would be that after your banishment, the king found out that nature of fans in the newspapers became narrowed later on, thus he, and everyone else, eventually had regrets criticizing you for being a fanatic, as they only wanted you to follow your duties for the kingdom. Yesterday, you just stopped a special convention in which fans, who now contain their enthusiasm, buy merchandise essentially for the sake of charities for those who have disease or don't have a home. One day, you will do something about it."_

After this dream, I suddenly woke up and thought about what I've done earlier in the first place. But before I actually considered bringing back Contendo Week, first thing was first: I came outside to see Mario and the gang raising their arms when arrested by the Koopatrols; since I was afraid to get involved, I hid behind one of the trees.

Precipitously, the Koopa King arrived in his Koopa Car, including his son Roy.

"There we have 'em," cried Roy, "those horrible jerks and that girl who gave me an evil death stare!"

"Wait a minute!" protested Virginia. "I wasn't seeking to give you nightmares; I only wanted you to change your behavior since you've been bullying everyone in the convention."

"Silence!" roared Bowser, in a dead serious tone. "Frighten my kid, would you? I'll give you a death stare you'll remember for life! And watch this!" He showed the girl a 20,000 karat egg-shaped moissanite (definitely harder and tougher than a rock), larger than a football, and then crushed it into dust with one bare hand, in just much less than a second. "Consider that gemstone to be you, twerp." He then faced Mac and his gator friend. "As for you, _Malcom_ and _Kenneth Rool_, what you did was foolish and unjust, stealing my son's toys so you can have them all to yourself! And to think it was bad enough that you drew toilet paper at our castle! I never should've trusted you on taking care of Roy in the first place, since you only cared about being free rather than befriending him!"

"Your majesty," objected Kenny, "we didn't steal you toys! Honest! You have to believe us!"

"Enough with your lies! Now, I expect the entire group in the dungeon by noon! Guards, send them away!"

_"__Every guy for himself!"_ thought Nabbit. He jumped over the guards and attempted to run away, but one of the knights managed to shoot him with a dart gun, anesthetizing the thief, who spun slowly and lied down.

"What have I done?" I whimpered, while hiding behind the trees. "I have to do something about it!"

In the meantime, while tens of the guards were ordered to search for the bag, the leftovers sent Mario and the gang to a portal, which led to the castle; as for the Mini-Marios, which were ignored by the sentries, they continued to reach for my house. Finally, the group was locked inside the dungeon, full of dust, spiders and mice.

"This is irony; a king like me is actually sent to this filthy jail cell," griped King K. Rool.

"What are we going to do, Dad?" asked Kenny. "We can't just stay here forever!"

His dad tapped his head. "I'm thinking of a plan! …But unfortunately, I'm all out of brain power."

"You have to let us out, your majesty!" cried Lily, shaking the bars. "We never stole those toys!"

"Shut up, you whiny brat!" barked Bowser. "Last night, there were one or more people who broke into Roy's room and stole the bag in the closet! And I've known the fact that you geeks would often pick on little kids and steal toys and cards in order to complete some collection and beat the heck out of competitors during silly tournaments!"

"That sounds a lot like Roy," suggested Virginia.

"Remember, if that bag isn't found by dawn, we'll be having toasted prisoners for supper!"

Everyone's hearts pounded, as this was a matter of life and death. What could they do now?

In the meantime, back at home, my crew wanted to talk to me about how I led to this mess, which got Mario and his gang in jail.

"Let's look at the facts, shall we?" inquired Fryguy. "After we took the bag, my friends, we ended up having some good, well-meaning fellows arrested, for something they didn't do. Right, Wart? You're the one who came up with this dumb idea ever since you were desperate for that Frog figure."

"It's true that I've been a fool to get revenge like that," I confessed. "But is there any way that we can fix it?"

"Of course there is. We should give back the bag to Roy and then apologize for what we did before!"

"But how can we? If we admit that we stole the toys, we could get in really big trouble!"

"Well, it's either that, or leaving the innocent in jail possibly for good."

Soon, the Mini-Marios came to our house to see me, for some reason.


	14. Chapter 14 - The True Meaning of a Geek

When I looked closely at the Mini-Marios, I recognized them as widely-known symbols representing enthusiasm for knowledge, due to their energy and their former central role in the very first Contendo Week. One of them gave me a pink letter that was written by Lily before the tread:

_Dear Wart,_

_After a discussion with Sonic, I've learned that some childhood companions threw turnips at you, in which you swelled up due to your root vegetable allergy. Not only that, they made you believe that being devoted to someone only leads to no good, which explains why you wanted to confiscate all of our stuff. But you realize that there's nothing with being a fan as long as no one gets carried away. In fact, those frogs shouldn't have attacked you since they can't change who you want to be. Whatever you do, don't listen to them, because you only wanted to learn so much about the wonders of history when you were a fan during your past._

_And about that Pikachu plushie you took from me; I just want to let you know that I had that same toy when I was little before I was separated from my parents. When you took it away from me, I felt pretty dejected at first, but after I "recovered", I heard that you didn't mean to hurt us since I was told that you used to be an open-minded fanatic until you were ridiculed by the frogs and civilians at Subcon a long time ago. While it's true that you didn't follow the king's duties when you used to be his servant, we know that you focus so much on your hobbies since you've been quite lonely; you had a hard time making friends, which driven you spend time alone with no one to appreciate your loyalty of all you learn about and love. However, I want to let you know that there are "geeks" who develop to have a profession and learn perseverance and self-reliance._

_Now the reason why we didn't leave you alone and tempted you to have fun with us, like the time when we participated in a quiz show, or fought enemies in an arena, is because we wanted you to have good friends who really take a shine on you, and to prove that there's nothing wrong with being a fan who enjoys his or life, especially that we were actually paying for goods for provide money for the poor. You know, not all conventions are just about entertainment and pleasure; Contendo Week is known for its connections with charities, like the Triforce Society, supporting those in need. So for that reason, we're hoping that you would get everyone involved again, since it's really okay to be a "geek" who shows respect._

_Your deep friend,_

_"Lily Pad"_

When I finished reading, I began to regret how I insulted everyone and took away all of their toys. For the whole time, they appeared to be more temperate and less compulsive towards the special guests; not only that, they seemed to want to learn just as much as me, meaning that I wasn't the only one with a truckload of information. For that reason, I was determined to make things right again; leaving behind the Mario toys, I brought Roy's bag of toys and cast a spell to make a portal to Bowser's castle for the crew and I to enter. From the portal, we landed on the hallway and looked for the dungeon where Mario and his group were locked inside.

Meanwhile, at the living room…

"Guards, is there any sign of that bag?" spoke Bowser.

"At the Mushroom Kingdom, we have searched every home and biome," stated one of the Koopa knights. "But the bag was nowhere to be seen."

"I made it clear that if that bag isn't found by dawn, I will have the prisoners roasted into ashes if it's the last thing I do, *turns to Roy* am I right, Roy?"

Roy didn't say a word. In fact, he began to look down, in which in a surreal manner, he felt sorry about how he bullied the kids at the con, mistreated his caretakers Little Mac and Kenny, who gave him lavish treatment and even bought him an excessive amount of toys and cards, cheated on Virginia, who was really nice to him and even bought ice cream for him, and last, but not least, acted selfish on me when I was having a turnip allergy set by the bullies. Furthermore, he accepted the fact that HE was the one who threw toilet paper at his own house, in which he simply blamed it on the boxer and gator. Far along, he decided to go to the secret basement where he unlocked a green spikey safe, which contained that Chrono Trigger Frog toy; but why was he doing it? Was he turning over a new leaf? Only time would tell.

In the interim, when it was already dawn, the crew and I became surrounded by another of Bowser's guards, who suspected us of intruding out of nowhere; we convinced them that we were going to bring back the bag to Roy. Understanding our thoughtfulness, they led us to the execution chamber, where the king was about to combust the threatened jailbirds, who were put in giant cages.

"Wart!" cried Lily. "We're over here!"

"Wait, stop!" I yelled at the Koopa King, who was breathing in like a puffer fish. "Do not burn them! I have Roy's bag!"

Bowser precipitously stopped. "Wart, is that you? Long time, no see, old friend."

"Do you remember when we used to be bad guys who worked together on evil schemes like flooding the Mushroom Kingdom and selling stolen paintings?"

The dragon turtle's eyes narrowed. "Humph, it also appears to me that you later turned from villain to just antihero. Now, why did you take my son's sack of toys?"

"Oh, that." Then, I started to cry, yearning for mercy. "I-I-I only stole it because your son has this frog toy, that I wanted SO BADLY when I was a little frogling! P-P-Please understand how sorry I am, to be a fool to commit this kind of silly mistake that Mario and my friends didn't make!"

Mouser covered his face with his paw and lied, "I kept telling that fat, foolish frog that we shouldn't have broken into that kid's room, but does he listen to me? No-o-o…"

"Ye never told him that, ye pig-headed liar!" objected Clawgrip.

"Be quiet, or I'm going to have to fight you again!"

"Enough!" shouted Bowser, crossing his arms. "So, Wart, what you did was DUMB, trying to take the bag in order to get the toy you want, and that made Roy accuse those plumbers and runts for doing it! If you admitted this mistake earlier, I would've let it go, since you were the last of my allies! And since you did it late…Well, I'm still going to have to forgive you, so don't ever steal from us again. Be thankful that you used to be a good friend, as I would NEVER do the same to anyone else, no matter how nice they would be."

Then, Roy Koopa showed up, with his hands behind his back. "I have a confession to make."

"Yo, that doesn't sound like Roy," Mac told his companions in the cage.

Roy continued, "I never thought I'd say this, but since there were certain people who were actually so nice to me throughout the week, I just want to say that I'm totally sorry for my horrible behavior, this time."

Everyone gasped like fish out of water.

"Why are you apologizing to your enemies?" argued his dad. "You know that being mean to others is the Koopa way!"

"No, Dad. Doesn't mean they're opponents doesn't mean that I have to mistreat them all the time, especially when some of them were being NICE to me! And just want to let you know, I'm the one who threw toilet paper at the house, not Mac and Kenny." He then walked towards me. "Thanks for teaching me that I can't want everything all the time, Wart."

"Huh?" I spoke, with my eyes broadened.

"When you took my bag, I somehow understood how a lot of fans felt when I took whatever of theirs, particularly the cards. It'll be a lesson I won't forget." He then brought me the Frog figure. "So I want you to have this."

The toy was placed on my hands. "For me? W-W-Why you shouldn't have! At first, I thought you put it in your bag."

"No, I put that toy in a safe under the secret basement so that none of my siblings would try to take it from me. You know how greedy they can be. But after some thinking, it's best that you keep it."

"Well, thank you so much for the gift!"

"That was a very nice thing you did, Roy," said Mario. "You know, being selfless is a great way to make friends because that way, you'll be even happier when you make others happy. When there's all of the stuff you want, they gradually lose their appeal and eventually their whole meaning; giving, on the other hand, will make you satisfied even longer since everyone each has some form of value."

"Okay, enough chit-chat," grumbled King K. Rool. "Can we get out now? We're proven innocent, you know!"

"_I can't take any of this change-of-heart malarkey anymore_. You prisoners are now free to go!" declared the Koopa King. "I guess for now on, before my son and I accuse you for doing something that you didn't do, we'll have a jury to gather evidence."

When the prisoners and my crew were set free and have left the castle, before I exited, I mentioned a long-forgotten person who had loved Bowser before her time ended. "If _Rosaria Silvestriano _discovered that Roy Koopa, as well as you, finally did something nice for a change since forever, she would've been so proud, right, _old buddy_?"

"Rosaria?" wondered Bowser. "Just who the heck is she? What absurd dream you have; after all, you came from a dream world."

That was when I assumed something: sometime before, Bowser must have buried her wife's valuables somewhere and drunk a disremembering potion, in order to end his pain over a lost one forever and move on with his evil life. Those weren't smart things to do, but there was nothing I could do about it now. Incidentally, I was told by King K. Rool that Bowser actually wasn't the one attacking Lily's ship; if not…then who did? Putting it aside, I cast another portal for Mario, my friends and I to return to the area of my home. There, we saw the Froggish Tenors who picked on me when I was little.

"You five again." I croaked.

"_I can't believe he brought the host, in which we're probably in trouble. _Look, about those turnips we threw at you…it was all a joke, you know?" gulped Regol.

"Oh, it's not about that, it's about how you see geeks as unlikable people, you know, those obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. But what if you used to enjoy toys, reading books, or all of that stuff?"

"What are you taking about?" asked Fred. "Are you playing a trick on us?"

Mario called the Mini-Marios. "Come on out, my friends!"

The toys showed up, waddling like ducks. One of them said, "We-a love you!"

The Froggish Tenors couldn't believe their eyes. What they saw were those wind-up toys, they began to deny the fact that they wanted to make their own when taking wood shop. From blueprint to blueprint, they kept failing on this kind of project due to some drawbacks like legs that wouldn't walk without falling, and the tendency to fall apart due to a weak build. But when they finally got the toys they wanted without having to make them, as a result, they admitted that they wanted to play with Mario figures without waiting in line to get them only to end up with nothing. When they knew that Mario didn't punish them and instead did something nice, they simply hopped away with clear guilt.

Then, the plumber and I made a special agreement that couldn't be rejected: I would have my rotting hut fixed and remodeled, followed by better furniture and beds; not only that, my crew and I would get a special breakfast tomorrow, in exchange of reopening Contendo Week for one more day and returning the confiscated toys, including Lily's Pikachu plush doll. First, I gave back the doll to the babysitter and apologized for being harsh on her before. In response, she hugged me tight as rope and thanked me for doing the right thing. Next, with the help of Stanley the reporter, Mario and I made a commercial on TV to have the viewers to contempt everything I said earlier and explain the true meaning of the word "geek" and how there is nothing wrong with being one since it's not about being unlikable; learning from the guy with the red cap, nerds should be honest on what they enjoy instead of hiding their selves; it's considered okay to be a proud kid, whether brainy or frisky, to signify the importance of nostalgia and freedom apart from the stiffness of adulthood.

On the next day, my crew and I have woke up in new beds that were made with bow-springs and cotton, and covered with better blankets; then, we saw the walls that have been cleaned and repainted in a brighter green, my skin color to be exact. When we got to the dining room, a Shy Guy chef appeared and brought us chocolate-hazelnut and banana crepe, the breakfast we've always wanted since forever. At first, we thought all of what was new was just a product of sub-consciousness, but when we ate the thin, rolled-up French pancakes, we couldn't imagine their taste; they turned out to be very delectable as they were sweet and nutty with a slight hint of bitterness from the chocolate; when we added the maple syrup that came along, the food became even more delightful with the extra liquid and saccharinity.

When we got outside, we took a good look of our house remodeled with windows, a better roof and door, and best of all, a hot tub in the backyard, where we could bathe in hot water to soothe our cramp-riddled muscles and joints. When we saw the Toads who were responsible for the home improvement, we rewarded them with some green gems, which made them happier than Waluigi smashing a toy in pieces.

Later, as I have promised as part of the agreement, I brought back the fan convention in Toad Town, wherein everyone invited were dressed up as their favorite heroes and villains in the Mushroom Kingdom. For example, I was portrayed as the Koopa King, my crew was dressed up as the Koopalings; there were also the babysitter, the boxer, the gator, Ginny, Suzibeth, and Louie wearing overalls (for the males) like the Mario Bros. or dresses (for the females) identical to those of the princess. I also became the last exclusive host, to justly contrast my reluctance, which was gradually decreasing, thanks to the help of all of my friends, especially Lily.

Meanwhile, Roy Koopa had proven himself changed for the better...just for one day, of course. Since yesterday, instead of bullying the fans, he came to see Virginia to apologize for cheating on her in the first place. "What I did was unfair and undeserving, and that is why I want to say how sorry I am for being the biggest jerk in town. To make it up for it, I am willing to bring you a good gift and play fair and square on our next card game." He showed the girl the Impa action figure and passed it to her like how he promised earlier.

"You finally fulfilled your promise, Roy!" she gasped as she received the figure. "Thank you! I am so glad that you're choosing to be nicer than before. This way, you'll be able to make friends even more. And do you know what else could happen?"

"Eh?"

Virginia slowly got closer to the Koopaling and kissed her in the cheek. Consequently, Roy blushed and nearly felt like fainting out of romance. Then, she continued, "I just want to let you know that I'm sorry too, for staring at you in the first place; even when I realized that you tricked me, I still had feelings for you, since I did like your pink sunglasses and your sweet talk; plus, I didn't think you were always bad since you could've been a truly charming fellow if you chose to be a friend."

"Gosh, thanks. What do you say we go skateboarding sometime later, at your world? I learned how much you love skating."

The purple-haired girl smiled. "Sure!"

Later, Mona showed up to see Roy. "Say, I like how you're turning over a new leaf. But I wonder if you still hate Mario."

"I still do," replied Roy. "But for today, I'm going to put that aside and spend time with my latest friend…the proper way."

In due course, with his Magnus model, the Koopaling decided to start a friendly action figure battle with Virginia, who fought with her Impa figure; they claimed attacks, imitated action noises, and smiled, in the progress of their true friendship.

Meanwhile, while I was playing with Lily, Little Mac, and Kenny during a public card tournament, Mario came to see me for a talk. "You've been-a wondering why we were to give that Frog toy as the prize for Fast Friday, right? That was because we wanted you to appreciate Contendo Week since years ago, you were the one who came up the idea of this week-long event!"

"Really, I did?"

"Of course you did! According to a documentary, when you were young, you would always make posters representing how you would like it if all worlds were celebrating each other by wearing costumes, playing with action figures and cards, and doing activities respecting distant culture and the history of the greatest heroes of all time."

"And do you know what else?" added Ginny. "You were smoking on the first two attractions; first, during the quiz show, you managed to get tons of questions correct, putting yourself on par with Miss Tigerlily."

"Just call me 'Lily'," the babysitter responded, smiling.

"Okay, _Lily_." She then continued, "Anyway, there was also the time when you were at the arena using your Bubble Beam to take down those monsters, putting your team in the lead in general."

"Not only that," added Louie, "You also used your magic to play with the actors on stage, helped capture a thief…"

"…assisted Lily to win Blurry Match, and saved Mario and the group from being burnt by King Bowser!" added Suzibeth. "Overall, we're so glad you came here, because you demonstrated how much potential you have when it comes to taking part of the event."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," I replied.

During this last day, we all began to sing a revision of the Contendo Week song from the first day:

[Trumpets are played by several Toads.]

[Kenny]

_Returning to Contendo, the place for fans,_

_Now that we're back, let's thank the green man._

_Since today's the last day, let's make the most of things,_

_It's time to finish now, with lots of good zing!_

[Me]

_Why does it have to end, with my frown?_

_I realized how fun it was, in every town!_

_I wish that it would last MORE than a week,_

_With the explanation that I now love geeks!_

[The Following]

_(Sonic) There's always next year!_

_(Ness) We'll be there!_

_(Calem) Don't ever stop us!_

_(Pallas) It's who we are!_

_(Roy Koopa) Maybe there will-_

_…be some Pikmin!_

_(Virginia) And perhaps even-_

_…ink shooters!_

_(Little Mac) But we ain't coming back for no toys and stuff!_

_(Lily) We're contributing for the needy, and that's just enough._

[Everyone]

_Glad that we could made it; we had some fun,_

_The con now lasts for six hours 'til it's done,_

_Since we joined the games, we've been so surprised,_

_An exclusive figure has been the Nobel Prize._

[Wart]

_This has been the week when I changed my character,_

_Now I want to spend time with all geeks together._

[All]

_Contendo is the Golden Age of Fans._

Anyway, on the final entry on my diary…

_Day 7: After I saved Mario and my friends from the arrest, I brought back Contendo Week for one more day. During the last day, I played cards with the babysitter, boxer and gator, Roy became nicer to everyone, especially Virginia, who seemed to become his girlfriend, and later, the Froggish Tenors returned to apologize for throwing turnips at me. And in case you were wondering earlier, Virginia gave Nabbit a Mini Luigi Toy, as a promised reward for recompensing himself extra from Wednesday. Furthermore, I have finally realized what the true meaning of geek is; back then, I used to hate fans for being obsessive and neglecting their chores, kind of like me years ago. Then, I realized that being a geek is not about to urge to get merchandise, being picked on, being alone, or even about biting heads off chickens at a carnival, it's about self-reliance and how we enjoy our hobbies and show our passion towards an intellectual pursuit._

The End


End file.
